Chosen
by Botoingness
Summary: What if you were suddenly dragged into a video game? What would you do to change things? Would you be able to change anything at all? Well, in this story, we are about to find out if me, Boto, were to be dragged into the world of Final Fantasy 7. This is Chosen. Currently being re-written.
1. Chapter 1: Dazed and Confused

Chapter One: Dazed and Confused

I was riding my bike home with a couple bags of groceries. The store was just down the street from my apartment, so it wasn't very far. Though my car being broken didn't help; if anything, it just put me in more debt. Trying to survive off a fast food restaurant salary wasn't helping either.

As I passed by my car, I stopped and glare at it. "Screw you too… I'm just kidding! I love you, car. Please don't screw me over anymore. I'm already in the hole enough as it is." I got off my bike, placed my head on the hood of the car and began to stroke it.

'First chance I get, I'm selling your sorry ass and buying another car.'

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound. I jumped up, almost falling over, and began to look around. I looked at my car and saw that one of my tires had popped.

"Shit! It can read my thoughts!" I grabbed my bike and bags and ran back inside. Slamming the door behind me, I leaned against it and slowly slid down to the ground. I looked up at my clock; it was a little after one. Staring blankly and sighing, I stood back up and put my groceries away.

I was pretty hot from the bike ride so, I decided to wash my face to help it cool down. Washing my hair would also help since it was shaggy and going down to my neck. I heard that having a darker hair color can also make you warmer but I never really bothered to look it up. That's something I would need to do since I have black hair.

Looking at my reflection, I focused on my light brown eyes. I couldn't decide if I inherited them from my mom or dad. I know I inherited my brown skin from my mom.

"I'm gonna go with my dad for my eyes." For some odd reason, I looked Asian with long hair. I could never figure out why. My mom is Mexican, and my dad white, so I had no idea where the Asian look came from. I just shrugged and walked over to my bed.

"Now then, let's play on the lappy until work." I kicked off my shoes and socks and laid down. Reaching to my side, I opened up my laptop. One of the best parts of living alone was being able to do whatever you wanted without worry of being caught. So, I did what came naturally to a nineteen year old teenager. Look up endless amounts of hentai.

As I began to type in 'Final Fantasy', my laptop suddenly shut down. "What the?" I stared at my laptop with a blank expression for a moment before trying to turn it back on. Nothing happened. I checked to see if it was plugged in properly and tried again. Still, nothing happened. Panicking, I started hitting the power button over and over again.

"No no no no no! My hentai! _Why!?_" Defeated, I set my laptop aside and stared blankly at the ceiling. To be fair, I shouldn't have been looking it up to begin with, so I deserved it. Still, my laptop just crapped out on me and it was my only source of entertainment. With the amount of debt I was in, it was going to be a while before I could buy anything else.

"Well, might as well take a nap." Being the lazy guy that I am, I left my wallet and phone in my pocket. I also had a set of ear buds in there. Every now and then I liked to listen to music on my phone. It was a cheap android.

For some reason, I suddenly grew very tired. As soon as I set my alarm clock, I fell asleep. I didn't have a dream. I just felt a strong sensation of my entire body being pulled, hard. It hurt a lot. My body began to burn as though I were on fire. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't open my mouth.

Every few seconds there was a bump. I tried focusing on that. Somehow, it seemed to work. Counting every three seconds, there would be a bump. Slowly, the burning went away. The bumping, on the other hand, that stayed.

I started to hear the sound of a train moving across rail road tracks. Now, along with the bump, a flash of light would accompany it. The softness of my bed was replaced with a hard seat.

"Now arriving at: Sector Seven Slums." A loud female voice suddenly boomed. My eyes shot open. I was no longer staring at my ceiling. Instead, I looked at a metal one with a light hanging down from it, slowly swinging back and forth. The train began to shake violently and came to a sudden stop. The lights went out, I was tossed from where I was laying and right onto the ground.

"What the-" I jumped to my feet and looked around. It was pitch black inside where I was. I could see out the windows, but there wasn't much to see. It was mostly dark.

"Hello?" I started to feel around in the dark, trying to grab on to something. Within moments the lights came back on causing the train jolt and I was tossed onto the floor again. Standing back up, I looked around once more. I was in the cabin of a train and, apparently, I was the only one on board. I looked out the window again to see I was at some sort of old train depot. The train once again stopped, only this time it was a slow and steady one. The doors opened and I stepped out. The first thing I noticed was that I had no shoes on; I was able to feel the warm pavement.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked.

"Sector Seven Slums." I jumped back as a man in a red uniform standing next to me answered. He looked tired and bored out of his mind. "Now, are you going to step away from the door so the other passengers can leave or what?"

"What?" I looked back into the train and saw no one. He brought his head next to mine.

"You know what I mean," he said in an annoyed tone.

"Uh, y-yeah, sure thing." I quickly stepped away from the doors and began to walk away.

"Stupid drug addicts." He mumbled when he thought I was out of ear shot.

"Ass." I said loudly enough for him to hear. I didn't bother to look back at him.

The further I walked the more run down everything seemed to become. The people were wearing old or raggedy clothes. I was in a ghetto.

"How the hell did I end up here?" The pavement gradualy turned to dirt and stung my feet a bit. I didn't recognize the place I was in at all. Slowly, I started to panic.

'Okay, just relax. Think how you ended up here. You went to bed in your room and…'

My head began to hurt; my memory was a huge blur after that.

"Ah, damn! Okay, new plan." I patted my pockets to see if I had anything in them. In one was my wallet, and in the other was my cellphone. I pulled out my phone first.

"Okay, let's see where maps says I am." I tried to activate my GPS on my phone. For some odd reason, it didn't work. "What?" There was no signal on my phone to begin with. To double check, I tried to make a phone call. There was nothing on the line.

"Shit, well that's out of the question… What the hell kind of place is called Sector Seven Slums!?" I placed my phone back into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. In it was my driver's license, a photo of me and my family, my debit card, and a couple of ones and fives.

"Well, I'm still broke." I put my wallet away and began to look at the buildings. There was really nothing on them to indicate what they were, so I assumed most of them were homes. Though there was one in particular that caught my eye.

"Huh, that's pretty cool. Owner must be a fan." There was a bar with a huge neon sign that read 'Seventh Heaven'.

* * *

><p><em>AN: The first chapter is now... uh... back up! Yup, I've decided to do a re-write on Chosen. Not the entire thing, just until I reach the chapters where my beta reader, Serendipital, started beta reading for me. So make sure to thank her. I hope you are able to notice the differences in this chapters and the others to come._


	2. Chapter 2: Misunderstandings

Chapter Two: Misunderstandings

I walked in through the front door of the bar. It was crowded, filled with the sounds of laughter and glasses clanging.

"Hey sweet cheeks, how's about another drink!" a man shouted.

"Call me that one more time and I'll throw you out!" a woman shouted back.

"You know I'm just kidding, Tifa!"

"Well I'm not!"

"Sounds lively in here…" My walk slowed down as I entered.

'Just remember, as soon as you make the call, leave this place. Man, this is going to be hard to explain. I guess I'll call one of my friends up first. I'm also going to need to get this place's location.'

The first thing I noticed when I walked up to the counter was the bartender herself.

'Whoa, talk about crazy dedication! This chick looks exactly like Tifa Lockheart. And her boobs are pretty big. She must have some crazy back problems… They're probably fake. Also, I don't think I should stare at her chest. I get the feeling she knows when guys are staring at her, and she probably won't like it.'

"Oh, a new face. Welcome to Seventh Heaven Bar. My name is Tifa Lockheart." She smiled and wiped down a spot on the counter. "We have a two drink minimum. So, what will it be?"

'Heh, she's not even carding me. If this were a sting, she'd be fired in a heartbeat. What an idiot.'

"Uh, does the drink have to be alcoholic?" I sat down at the spot she had just wiped down.

"No, it doesn't," she replied.

"Well, can I have a couple of cups of coffee? It's going to be a long night for me." I had already noticed that, on my phone, it was about midnight. Panicking wasn't going to get me anywhere so it would be best to try and play it cool for now.

"Yeah, here the nights are always long." She seemed to space out for a moment, just staring at the door. "Marlene, can you please fix two cups of coffee?"

"Right away Tifa!" a voice came from behind the counter. I leaned forward and saw a little girl running around. She looked to be about three or four.

'I know people take their kids to work, but come on! This is a friggin bar! She should be asleep and going to school tomorrow or something.'

"Is something wrong?" Tifa was giving me a stern look with her arms folded. It was as though she could read my thoughts.

"Oh, heh heh, it's nothing. I was just looking to see if you had a phone I could borrow." I nervously rubbed the back of my head.

"Well, you're not going to find it back here. We have one right over there." She pointed to the end of the counter. Sure enough, there was an old phone with a cord.

'Dang, this place is old.'

"Thanks, I'll be right back." I stood back up and walked over to the phone.

'Um, I do believe I need to dial nine. Just let me look through my phone numbers.'

I pulled my phone back out and started going through the list of numbers. Picking one of my friends first, I punched in the numbers on the dial pad. Once the number was in I waited.

"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not valid. Please hang up and try again," the automated voice came over the phone.

"What?" I hung up and tried the number again. The same voice came over once more. I tried different numbers and they all ended the same.

"Damn it. I can't get a hold of anyone." I sighed and hung up the phone.

"Two cups of coffee!" Tifa shouted. I sat back down and stared blankly at the black liquid. I just couldn't stop wondering why all of my numbers wouldn't work.

"Something the matter?" Tifa asked.

"Huh?" I was suddenly pulled away from my thoughts. "Oh, no, it's just I couldn't get a hold of anybody."

"Well, it happens. Maybe you can try again in a bit."

"Hey Tifa, can I get another round for my table?" One of the other customers shouted.

"Sure thing!" Before I knew it, she was off and I was left to my thoughts.

'Well, I guess I'm gonna have to start asking around. This is going to get real uncomfortable.'

"Hey, did you hear about the sector 1 reactor?" I heard someone ask.

"Yeah, I heard that AVALANCHE is behind it."

"That would explain the power outage and quake."

'Sector 1 reactor? AVALANCE? I must be going crazy. This is sounding way too much like Final Fantasy VII.'

"By the way," my thoughts were once again broken by Tifa, "the coffee is going to cost you six gil."

"Gil. Sector VII. Reactors. AVALANCHE. Crap, the only thing missing is Cloud and Barret running in and talking about how well the bombing went." I started to laugh when a mug suddenly shattered. My focus instantly went to the floor around me.

'Shit! Did I drop a cup or something? My feet are going to be so cut up if I'm not careful.'

"What did you just say?" I looked back up to see Tifa staring at me with a shocked expression. I could see bits of shattered glass behind the counter.

'Oh, she dropped the glass. Wait, why did she ask?'

"What?" I gave her a confused look.

"I said, what did you just say?" She slammed her hands on the counter. The entire bar went silent.

"Uh, um… Uh… I think I should go…" I cautiously got up from my seat.

"Bar is closed. Everyone out." Tifa's gaze didn't break. The sounds of chairs scooting and feet rushing filled the room for only a moment. Then, there was nothing but silence. I turned around to see the little girl running over to the door and locking it.

"So, how do you know about the plan?" Tifa was slowly walking around the counter and over to me.

"Plan? What plan?" I was so confused.

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about the mako reactor."

"Mako… You mean blowing up one? I thought everyone knew about it."

'Well, everyone that's played Final Fantasy VII. This is getting ridiculous! They're taking this thing way to far.'

"We kept that known only to people in AVALANCHE. So, who leaked the information? How did Shinra find out?" Tifa growled.

"What?"

"I said, don't play _dumb_!" _She_ punched me in the chest, sending me flying across the room and straight into the wall. I coughed up blood, and I was almost positive several of my ribs had been broken.

"Guah… W-what…" I could barely talk. My body hurt too much for me to do anything.

'No, this is impossible. A punch shouldn't be able to send me flying like that. Unless… No no no, that can't be true. It's just not.'

Tifa lifted me up by the collar of my shirt and held me up in the air. "Now, I'll give you one last chance to talk, or I will use this." She held up a small green orb in her other hand. Sparks began to shoot out of it and before I knew it, a bolt of lightning shot out and hit the wall next to me.

"M-m-ma-" I stuttered.

"That's right, lightning materia." She slammed me against the wall.

'That's it. Either I've gone insane, or I've been dragged into a video game.'

That was my last thought before I blacked out.

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><p>A_N: And chapter two is done and out! I hope you enjoyed this one and continue to read the revised chapters._


	3. Chapter 3: And So It Begins

Chapter Three: And So It Begins

Every few seconds, there was a slicking sound. The constant noise was giving me a headache. I opened my eyes to see a wall. I somehow ended up lying on my side.

'What the… How did I end up here?'

I tried to move my arms, but they felt like they were bound together. It was the same case with my legs. I began to fidget with whatever was binding my limbs. Unfortunately, that only caused my ribs to hurt since they were just recently broken.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a deep voice said from behind me. I flipped my body around to see who it was. There sat a man on a box, loading bullets into a clip sticking out of his gun arm.

"Y-you're…" The man in front of me was none other than Barret Wallace.

"Looks like you already know my name." Barret placed the last bullet in the clip and slammed it into his arm. Standing up he began to walk towards me.

"Look, whatever you- guah." I winced in pain. "Whatever you think I am, I can tell you that I'm not a spy!" The memory of why I was here came rushing back.

'Just say whatever comes to your mind. It doesn't matter if I'm in a game or not. What's real is that this guy is going to kick my ass unless I can convince him I'm not a spy… Why did I end up in this situation?'

"Ha, and what makes you think I'm gonna believe that?" Barret pointed his gun arm at me.

'Shit, not good.'

"B-because um, if I were a spy, reinforcements would have already been here, taking you guys down. Besides, Shinra would have sent a Turk in instead."

"What the hell's a Turk?" Barret asked.

"A Turk," My eyes went straight to the far corner of the room. It was dark but I could make out a figure sitting on a box. "is a personal guard dog of Shinra. Doing all the dirty work and working behind the scenes." With arms folded and buster sword attached to him back, Cloud Strife stood up his box.

'Shit! Man, I didn't even see him.'

"I didn't ask for your damn opinion," Barret scoffed.

"It's not an opinion; it's a fact. He is no Shinra spy." Cloud walked over and leaned against the wall next to me.

"And what makes you so damn sure about that?" Barret's attention shifted over to Cloud.

"It's as he said. If he were a spy, then Shinra would have sent backup already." Cloud folded his arms.

Barret seemed to think deeply about Cloud's words. "I suppose you could be right."

'Holy shit! He believed my story! He actually bought it. Brain, you're out of the job. Mouth, start saying words!'

Barret's gaze had once again returned to me. "But that still don't explain why you knew about our plan to blow up the reactor."

"I can explain!" I quickly responded. "Look, there are rumors constantly floating around the slums about how the group AVALANCHE might try to do something drastic in Midgar, like blow up a reactor. Trust me when I say this, things aren't as secret as you might think they are."

"He's right. Word spreads fast in places like this," Cloud said. "No matter how hard you try, someone will always over hear something or have a slip of the tongue."

"Exactly! You just listen hard enough and you can hear almost anything," I pleaded.

"I know that! I've lived here long enough to figure that out!" Barret smashed one of the boxes next to him with his gun arm. "I jus' didn't think that our plan would get out so quickly," he mumbled.

"So, uh… If it's fine with you, can you untie me now? I think my ribs are still broken and they kinda hurt… a lot." I rolled around on the ground, trying to undo the binds on me.

'Yeah, this hurts like a bitch.'

"Hold up," Barret stopped me from moving by placing his boot on my back. "I still wanna know what the hell brought you here."

I looked up at Barret, trying to hold a poker face. "Heh heh, what do you mean? I told you, I was curious about the rumors."

"I don't buy that bullshit. No damn fool comes here just to learn about rumors." An evil grin formed on Barret's face. "I think you came here to do some volunteer work for AVALANCHE."

'Shit.'

"Uh… what do you mean by volunteer?" I broke into a cold sweat.

"I mean, you gonna be working for us for free. Since you know so much about our plans, we can't really let you go. So, I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you." Barret removed his boot from me.

"Shit." Joining AVALANCHE was the last thing on my mind. Risking my life to blow up something didn't sound appealing at all. I just wanted to go home, if that was even possible at this point. On the other hand, I did manage to prolong my life.

"I don't care what you do with him. Getting paid is all I care about. Now," Cloud walked over to a pinball machine. "I'll be upstairs." he pressed a button on the side, and the machine ascended. Moments later it came back down.

"Spiky-haired prick pisses me off every time he opens that damned mouth of his." Barret grabbed the binds that were on me and pulled them apart.

"Ugh… what are we going to do about my ribs?" I tried to stand up but it just hurt too much to move.

"You whine way too much for someone who jus' had their life spared. Go to the woman behind the bar counter. Her name is Tifa. She'll know what to do. An if you do anything down here, I'll know about it." Barret proceeded to grab onto some pipes connected to the pinball machine and climbed up. I waited until he was out of sight before I sighed.

"Man, I've never been in this much pain before." I lifted myself up and leaned on one of the nearby boxes. I patted my pockets down to see if I still had my stuff.

"Huh, they must've not checked me before tying me up." I pulled out my phone; it was still on. "Wait, if I'm really in Final Fantasy then this phone could be bad news for me. This thing has some crap on here that will really make them wonder. I'm pretty sure it still has Advent Children on here. I should hide it along with my wallet." Opening one of the boxes, I placed all my belongings into them. It was full of old, useless-looking things so I hoped that they wouldn't be going through this box any time soon. Just to be on the safe side, I placed it somewhere out of sight and where I would remember.

I walked over to the pinball machine. "Okay," I said hesitantly. "Let's do this." I pressed a button on the side of the machine and began to ascend. It was really nerve-wracking knowing that you were about to talk to a bunch of video game characters.

'Remember, as of right now, you know none of their names except for Tifa and Barret.'

When I reached the top I saw Tifa behind the counter once again. Cloud was sitting at the counter having a drink. Barret was at a table with four other people, who I assumed to be Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and Marlene. The girl was sitting on Barret's massive shoulders.

"Uh… hello… again…" This felt incredibly awkward.

"It's about damn time you showed up. Now, as I was sayin', this guy will now be a new member of our team." Barret sat up from the table and walked over to me. "Now, tell us your name."

'Isn't it proper to introduce yourself first?'

"Um, yeah, my name's Robert. Everyone just calls me Boto." I rubbed the back of my head.

"My name is Biggs." One of the guys from the table stood up and pointed to himself. He then pointed to the other two. "This big guy over here is Wedge and the pretty lady next to him is Jessie."

"Yo." Wedge did a slight hand wave before he took a sip of his drink.

"So, you were the spy we caught." Jessie examined me. I don't think she trusted me.

"Boto huh? Well you know my name. This little angel on my shoulder is Marlene." Barret pointed to Marlene, who proceeded to try and hide behind him.

"Sorry about earlier. I couldn't really take any chances of a Shinra spy in here. My name is Tifa." She then pointed to Cloud. "And this is Cloud." Cloud sat there with a bored expression while looking past Tifa, sipping his drink.

'Yeah, looks about right… asshole.'

I walked over to the counter and leaned on it. "Hey Tifa, is it possible for you to help me out with my ribs? They're kinda… broken." I wrapped my arm around my chest.

"Oh yeah, I have a healing materia right here." She began to dig around under the counter and pulled out another green orb. She held the orb out and firmly grasped it. Within seconds the orb began to glow. I felt my robs start to crack, it felt like they were snapping back into place.

"_Uahhhhh! _Damn that hurts!" I hunched over the counter holding my ribs.

'What the hell! I thought healing magic was supposed to heal. Not make you feel worse!'

The mending stopped, but the pain was still there. "Hey, why'd you stop?" I asked.

"Sorry, but my magic skills aren't very great. Here, you're going to have to drink this instead." Tifa handed me a small bottle filled with a blue liquid.

'A potion.'

"Thanks." I grabbed the bottle and opened it, taking a quick sniff. It had no order to it. I examined the bottle more thoroughly before taking a small sip. The texture was kind of slimy and it tasted of real bad cough syrup. I almost spat it out.

"This stuff tastes awful." I held the potion away from me.

"Yeah, all potions taste like that. Why do you look so surprised?" Tifa placed her hand over her mouth and and slightly tilted her head.

"Well, you know, sometimes you forget things and they just… surprise you." I quickly downed the rest of the potion. I could feel the rest of my rib painfully pop back into place. "Oh yeah, it hurts so good." Hunching over the counter, I grabbed my ribs and began to cough.

"Ha ha ha, yeah. Healing magic is such a pain, but such a big help." Wedge sat next to me and slapped my back. "Since it rapidly regenerates your wounds, it's gonna hurt a lot."

"Wedge, you don't always have to explain everything!" Jessie shouted from the table.

Wedge rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Yeah, well, you know me. I just wish that the potions tasted better. Speaking of good tasting food." He looked at Tifa with a sly look.

Tifa shook her head and smiled, "Sure thing Wedge. I'll get some food ready right now." She walked over to the fridge and started rummaging through it.

"Aw, yeah! Foods coming!" Wedge fist pumped with excitement. "Come on Boto, sit with us at the table." He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from the counter. Fortunately, the pain in my ribs had already subsided. Wedge sat me on a seat next to him.

"So, tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from?" Jessie asked. She was sitting across from me chugging her drink.

"Uh, there's not much to know about me. I, uh…" I had to think of something fast. Something that sounded believable. "I grew up in Sector Six."

"Above or below the plate?" Biggs asked.

"Below," I quickly replied.

"Yeah, no offense, but that's easy to tell. Your clothes look a little raggedy, not to mention that you're not even wearing shoes." Biggs pointed to my feet. I looked down and wiggled my toes.

"Yeah, I kind of don't have any." I nervously rubbed the back of my head.

"Well that's no good. Looks like we'll have to find you a pair." Wedge slapped me on the back again.

"So wait, Barret was telling us that you're the new member but when we showed up from our last mission, Tifa was telling us she found a spy. What's the story?" Jessie wiped her moth as she set down her glass.

"I'm not a spy. I just over heard a rumor that led me to here. You know the rest from there. Barret want's to keep an eye on me to make sure I don't do anything so he's having me join you guys/"

"An' I'm gonna keep a dan-" Barret stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Marlene. "Er, a real close eye on you. Think of this as a trial. You prove yourself on this next mission then I'll think about trusting you. You're just lucky we need more people."

'Screw you too, Barret.'

"Yeah, I want to see what this guy is capable of doing. Then I'll see if I can trust him," Biggs said.

"Hey Tifa, can we get a refill on drinks?" Wedge had another huge grin on his face.

"Sure. Another round coming up!" Tifa began to fix another round of drinks.

"Hey, go easy on the drinks tonight. I want everyone up early tomorrow so we can see what the new guy can do," Barret said. I gave a mental groan. I have little to no combat experience so there was no telling what they were going to do once they figured that out. I didn't even know if they were going to have me use materia. I had no idea how to use it.

"I think I'll just turn in for the night." I stood up from the table.

"Wait a minuet. Before you go, I have one thing I want to do." Barret placed Marlene on the ground and began to give me a pat search.

"What the- What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm seein' if you have anything on you that could be dangerous." Barret finished patting me down. "Okay, you're clean."

"Daddy, why did you wait until now instead of when Tifa knocked him out?" Marlene looked at Barret with curiosity.

"Well uh… it was so he'd be thrown off and not… expect me to pat him down!" Barret grinned.

'I'm guessing he just didn't think about it until now. You know, it's kind of odd with how much they trust me already. I guess they just really need people to join their cause.'

"You'll be sleeping back in the basement. Don't mess with anything." Barret pointed to the pinball machine. I just quickly walked over to it and let it lower me down.

Boxes didn't look too appealing to sleep on but considering how my day had been going, as long as I was able to sleep anything seemed great. All the stress just made my body crash. I let myself fall onto the nearest pile of boxes.

"How the hell did I end up here?" I tried to fall asleep but I just couldn't. There was so much on my mind. Would I ever go back home? Maybe this was all a dream and if I went to sleep I would wake up in my bed.

I don't know how long it was before I finally drifted off to sleep.

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><p><em>AN: Chapter three has finally be re-done! Keep on eye out for changes as I go along. And for those who have just started reading, I would suggest waiting until I have fully caught up on re-writing the chapters before moving on. Chapter 24 is when I should e done with the re-writes. I hope you continue to enjoy my story!_


	4. Chapter 4: Mako Reactor

Chapter Four: Mako Reactor

I didn't sleep very well. I would constantly wake up throughout the night, each time finding it more difficult to fall back asleep. I eventually tried using my black hoodie as a pillow but it didn't help much. I couldn't sleep well. There was just way too much on my mind.

I eventually just stared at the T.V. The news was on and it was covering the events of what happened yesterday. The volume was turned almost all the way down so I could only hear muffled voices. It was also the only source of light in the room at the moment. I don't know when it was turned on or when the lights were shut off, but this type of atmosphere really relaxed me. I guess it was because I usually slept like this a lot when I was home.

I tuned my head away from the T.V to see if anyone else was in the room only to see Cloud, sitting against the wall with his arms folded and head tilted down. He must have come in while I was sleeping. He probably turned off the lights and whatnot.

I still couldn't get over the fact that I was in a video game. In the very same room as Cloud Freaking Strife. The dude had some muscle on him. From what I could remember, he was pretty short. It would be interesting to see just how short he was compared to me.

"Why are you staring at me?" Cloud lifted his head and stared right back at me.

"Uhhh… I-I don't know know man. It's just uhhh… I don't know…" My face turned bright red as I tried to pull myself off the pile of boxes. I ended up falling face first onto the floor.

"Whatever." Cloud picked himself up off the ground and stretched. "I'm heading upstairs now." He walked over to the pinball elevator and pressed a button on the wall. The pinball machine descended and just as quickly ascended when Cloud stepped onto it.

"Well, this is going to be a great day." I pulled myself up and stretched. As I started walking, I remember that I hid my belongings in a box the night before. I quickly searched for them until I found the right box. Putting everything in my pocket, I walked over to the pinball machine and waited for it to come back down. Once it was down, I rode it to the top floor.

"-you're up for the mission, right?" Tifa was leaning against the counter, talking to Cloud.

"As long as I continue to get paid," Cloud said.

I walked over to the counter and sat at the far end. "Morning. Or, whatever time of the day it is." I let my head fall onto the counter.

"Good to see you're up as well. Here, catch." Tifa tossed an apple at me. I lifted my head in time for it to hit me in the face.

I let me head fall back onto the counter. "Ow," I said. My day has already started off on the wrong foot.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you in the face." Tifa picked up the apple and placed it next to me. I just gave her a thumbs up.

At that moment, Barret burst through the front door. "Is the new guy awake? We need to see what he can do."

"Yo." I raised my hand.

"Good. Now get your ass up and follow me. Tifa, you ready?" Barret asked.

"Yup, let's head to the back." Tifa walked around the counter and over to the front door. I slowly got up from the chair and followed suit.

It was still dark when I walked outside. I was about to ask what time it was when it hit me, the plate blocked out the sun in the slums. I stopped, staring at it with my head craned back. To just have the story tell you about it in the game is one thing. To actually see the plate looming over you is another. It made me depressed just thinking about how the sky is never visible.

"Hurry your ass up! We don't got all day!" Barret shouted.

"R-right." I followed him around to the back of the bar. There stood a straw man in the middle of a sand pit.

"This is where we test out new materia. Today," Tifa handed me a bangle with a small green orb in it. "you will be trying out this fire materia. We want to see what you can do with magic."

"Materia?" I stared at the orb on my wrist. It didn't seem real to me. I was about to try and use _magic_.

"That's what I said. Go ahead and give it a try," Tifa said.

I held the materia up and stared at it. "Dumb question but how do you use it?" It had never crossed my mind.

"What!? You mean to tell me you don't know how to use no damned materia!?" Barret shouted.

"Barret, you don't know how to use materia either." Tifa pointed out.

"That's not the point," Barret mumbled.

"Focus on the materia and envision your target." Cloud walked up from the back of the bar and stood next to me. He stretched out his hand, then lightning shot out of from what seemed to be nowhere and hit the straw man. "Like so."

'Holy shit. That was actual lightning.'

"This materia is still weak. I'll need to make it stronger." Cloud stared at his materia.

"Well, guess I'll give it a shot." I took a deep breath and stretched out my arm. I thought about my materia and pictured fire hitting the straw man. The materia began to glow and before I knew it, a small flame struck the target. "Whoa." I was shocked I just used magic, something that I thought was impossible.

"Not bad for a first timer. With some more training, you might be a decent magic user," Tifa said.

"Just stay behind us and take down what you can from a distance. If we didn't need the help, you wouldn't even be coming." Barret gave me a dead-serious look. The reality of everything began to sink in.

I was about to fight.

* * *

><p>I was sitting at the end of the train across from a sleeping homeless man. Tifa managed to find a pair of old shoes for me to wear along with a pair of gloves. They fit pretty well.<p>

I was nervous. No, I was more than nervous, I was scared. I've never had to fight before, never mind the fact I was going to be fighting for my life.

'What the hell am I doing here?' I kept thinking over and over to myself.

"It will be alright." I heard a soft whisper. My head shot up and I looked around.

"Did you say something?" I asked the homeless man.

"Huh? What? You talkin' to me?" He sat up and looked around for a bit.

"Never mind." I waved it off.

"Okay." He laid back down and fell asleep.

'Who was that? It sounded like… a woman. And why do I feel so calm?' This calming felling had washed over me. It was so odd, almost frighteningly odd.

"Yo, new guy! You payin' attention?" Barret shouted.

"Huh?" I looked up at him. He was walking towards me from the other end of the train.

"We got three minutes before we hit the checkpoint."

"R-right." I nodded my head and stood up. Barret had explained the plan to me before we boarded. Jump off the train, sneak into the mako reactor, plant a bomb, and leave before it explodes. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was hard to believe they actually would. I had to see it for myself.

"Cloud, come over here! Let's look at the railway map monitor." Tifa waved Cloud over.

'Well, if things truly play out like they're supposed to, then the alarm should be going off any second.' As if on cue, the alarm went off.

"The hell's goin' on!?" Barret ran over to Tifa and Cloud.

I took a deep breath. "Well, here we go." I ran after him. When I reached them, they had already started to run to the next car.

"Wait, what's going on!?" I shouted.

"No time to explain, just follow us!" Barret bolted into the next car along with Tifa and Cloud. I blocked out the sound around me, just focusing on reaching the last car. Suddenly, I bumped into something.

"Watch where you're goin'! You almost pushed me out of the train!" Barret was standing in front of an open door. Before I had known it, I had reached the last car. Cloud and Tifa were standing near the door talking while Jessie, Biggs and Wedge tried to blend in with the rest of the crowd in their disguises.

"Sorry, didn't even realize I reached the last car." The train seemed to be moving faster now that I looked out the open door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hey." Someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Biggs standing behind me. "Just remember to tuck your knees in and roll as soon as you hit the ground. Trust me." He smiled and winked at me. I gave a week smile and nodded.

Tifa walked up to the door and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I've made up my mind! Watch closely, I'm gonna jump!" Without hesitation, she jumped off the train. Cloud casually walked up to the door.

"Yo! Don't go gettin' your spiky-ass hurt! It's only the beginnin' of the mission!" Barret shouted to Cloud. Cloud just shrugged leapt off the train. It was my turn.

"Shit." The wind hit my face hard as I stood at the foot of the door.

"Same goes double for you!" Barret shouted at me. I turned around and flashed him a big smile.

"Well, let's get this over with." I jumped out of the train and before I knew it, I hit the ground hard and began to roll uncontrollably. I came to an abrupt stop when I rolled right into a large support beam.

"Ow," I let myself slowly roll onto my back. I felt as though every bone in my body was broken. It didn't help that the room was now spinning, causing me to feel like I was going to vomit. I was also bleeding in several places.

'I think I'm just gonna lay here and wait for death. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.' I looked around and saw Cloud walking up to me.

"Here, drink this." He kneeled down and pulled out a small bottle. I slowly reached out and grabbed it, then raised it to my lips and drank it. After a sharp pain shot through my body, I felt a million times better.

"What was that?" I pulled myself off the ground and dusted off my clothes.

"A hi-potion. Let's go; we need to meet up with Barret." Cloud began to walk away.

Tifa followed shortly after Cloud. She stopped and examined me for a moment. "You don't look so good. Did you remember to tuck and roll?"

"Things went faster than I thought they would…" I trailed off.

"Well, if you need any healing remember that I have this." Tifa showed me her healing materia.

"Thanks. I'm good for now. Come on, let's go meet up with Barret." I started walking to the meet up point.

It didn't take us long to reach the next checkpoint.

"It's about damn time you show up." Barret was already waiting for us. Next to him was a small ventilation shaft. "Ya know, that's one damn tiny hole. You tellin' me we need to squeeze into that to get under the plate? No way!"

"Too late to turn back now." Cloud began to climb down the vent. Tifa followed him shortly after.

"Well, I don't wanna stay on these tracks for the next train to hit me. I'm going down." I climbed down the vent and worked our way through a system of walkways and ladders.

It was weird. In the game I would be running into random battles, but there didn't seem to be an enemy in sight. We would see a rat or two run by, but that would be it.

'Well, the encounter system in the game was there to help you level up. Here, you can't level up.'

We reached an opening in the ventilation system that led us to a ledge that was pretty high up. We were getting closer to the mako reactor.

"Well, looks like the stairs are busted." Tifa pointed towards a broken set of stairs.

Cloud walked over to a nearby pipe. "Down this pipe. Careful, it's easy to fall off." He stepped onto it and slid down as though he'd done it hundreds of times before.

"Damn show off. Standin' on it like it's nothin'" Barret slid down the pipe backwards while hugging it with his body.

"We have no time to waste." Tifa sat on the pipe with both legs on one side of it and followed after.

"Well, this'll be interesting." I set my foot on the pipe, getting ready to go down it.

"Hurry your ass up!" Barret shouted, causing me to fall onto the pipe face first and slide down it. Before I knew it, I was face down on the ground.

"Ow." I pulled myself off the ground once again.

'This trip seems to be filled with nothing but pain for me.'

"Boto, are you okay?" Tifa place her hand on my back.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's move on." We walked through what seemed to be a maintenance entrance and climbed down many ladders and pipes.

The closer we were to the core of the reactor, the hotter it seemed to be. It made sense, now that I actually stopped to think about it. I just never expected mako to be so hot when it was being harvested.

"Dang, it's hot," I said as I stepped off the last ladder and onto the walkway.

"Quit complaining. It's gonna get hotter here in a few minutes." Barret was drenched in sweat.

Tifa wiped some sweat off her forehead. "I wouldn't mind stopping for a few seconds."

"We can afford to take a small break." Cloud stepped off the ladder and leaned against the railing.

I leaned over the railing and looked down. Far below was a green glowing pool of mako, steam flowing in waves and hitting my face. I looked up and took in the metal structure. It was hard to believe that I was inside a mako reactor, not to mention I'm about to blow it sky high. It made me feel really uneasy.

'I know how it was going to happen. But the question is, how will things go with me here? Will I change anything or will everything go just as planned? Any minute now we will go down this walkway and plant a bomb. Then we will try to run like hell only to be caught and fight a robot. The robot will explode and Cloud will fall down it. What the hell do I do? Shit, I've never even been in a fight. I don't know how useful I'll be. Not to mention I'm about to kill a lot of innocent people. Well, they aren't real. This is all a video game still, right? I'm not actually killing anyone, right?'

"How are you holding up?" Tifa broke me from my thoughts.

I turned my attention towards her. "Huh? Oh, just… nervous."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Something's off. Why are there no guards?" Tifa looked down both ends of the walkway.

"It's a trap." Cloud looked up at the pipes.

"What makes you so sure?" Barret asked.

"Like Tifa said, there's no guards. They are planning something." Cloud started walking down the walkway towards the core.

"Wait, should we turn back?" Tifa shouted.

"It's too late for that. It's best to get the job done and leave as soon as possible," Cloud said.

"Looks like the only thing we can do now is move forward." I followed Cloud down the path. Tifa and Barret followed shortly after.

Suddenly, Cloud fell to his knees, grabbing his head. Tifa and Barret stared at him in stunned silence. I stood back, just watching as the scene unfolded.

"Damn man, get a hold of yourself!" Barret finally shouted.

Tifa walked over to Cloud and knelt down next to him. "You all right?" She placed her hand on his back.

"Tifa?" Cloud slowly lifted his head before shaking his head and looking at her. "No… Forget…" Cloud stood up and brushed himself off. "Come on, let's hurry!" Tifa and Barret watched Cloud with worried expressions as he walked over to the core.

"You aint gonna pull some weird shit like that, are you?" Barret turned and looked at me.

"What? No, no… well, as far as I know." I flashed him a quick smile. Barret just stared at me with a stone cold face. He shook his head and walked over to Cloud and Tifa.

'Jeez, can't take a joke.'

I followed shortly after. Cloud was kneeling down next to the core, planting the bomb. After a loud click, Cloud stood up. "Okay, we have about ten minutes before the bomb goes off. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Right, let's go!" Tifa shouted. She lead us out from the core and up through the normal exit.

'Okay, this is the spot where the president shows up. Shortly after, my first fight… Shit! I'm not ready for this!'

I began to sweat as we came closer to the exit.

"This way!" Barret motioned for us to follow, going left. As he ran down the path, a group of soldiers appeared. "Shina soldiers?" He slowly backed away from them.

"Damn, looks like it was a trap!" I shouted. I looked around and saw that we were surrounded on all sides. All of them were aiming their rifles at us. Out from where we just came walked the president of Shinra.

"P-President Shinra!?" Barret shouted. All of us slowly backed away from him.

"What's he doing here?" Tifa raised her fists.

"Hm… so you all must be… What was it?" The president gave us an uncaring look as he examined us.

"AVALANCHE! And don't you forget it! So, you're President Shinra, huh?" Barret glared at the president while shaking his fists.

Cloud took a few steps toward the president. "Long time no see, sir," he said with a bit of a sarcastic tone.

"Long time no see?" The president stared at Cloud with squinted eyes. "Oh, you. You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you'd been exposed to mako by the look in your eyes." He folded his arms behind his back and took a few steps forward. "Tell me, traitor, what was your name?"

"Cloud."

"Forgive me for asking, but I can't be expected to remember everyone's names." The president cocked an eyebrow and slightly turned his head. "Unless you become another Sephiroth. Ah, he was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant."

"Sephiroth?" Cloud took a step back at the sound of his name. Barret began to run towards the president until I held up my hand and stopped him.

"Don't even bother. By the looks of him, he doesn't really care what we have to say," I said.

"Smart man." The president pointed at me. "It's a shame you have to die here."

"Why don't you just cut to the chase." I pointed at the president. "Why don't you just show whatever new toy you have waiting for us."

"That obvious, huh? Well, no sense in keeping you waiting." The president gave a loud whistle. Suddenly, there was a low rumbling. The rumbling grew to a deafening roar within seconds.

"What is that?" Tifa shouted. One of the groups of soldiers quickly stepped to the side as a huge robot charged towards us.

Without thinking, I dove out of the way. Before I realized it, I was behind the robot while Cloud was on the side and Barret and Tifa in front of it.

'Shit, this isn't good. At this rate I'm gonna end up falling with Cloud. My luck isn't good enough to have me survive the fall.'

"Meet Airbuster," The president shouted. "A techno-solider made by our weapons development department. I'm sure you'll prove to be adequate experiments for it." A helicopter appeared next to the president. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He stepped onto the helicopter and took off. The rest of the soldiers backed off and left us to our fight.

"Shit, we gotta do something about this guy!" Barret shouted. The Airbuster charged Barret and Tifa, causing them to retreat.

"Shit!" As Barret started shooting at the Airbuster, Cloud drew his sword and charged at it. Tifa was the first to be attacked, and she narrowly avoided the swing from its arm by jumping over it. Landing on its arm, she ran up to punch it in the face, then jumped away. The hit was strong enough to push it back towards Cloud. He lunged with his sword and jammed it into Airbuster. It spun around, causing the sword to cut through it like a knife opening a can.

I couldn't move, my legs kept shaking and my mind was drawing a blank. I was too afraid to fight. But I knew I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. I remember when I was younger, I was told that fear is a thief, it would steal whatever it could from you. They didn't need my help and I wasn't doing this for them. This was for me. My entire life I've been to afraid to stand up and fight, even speaking up for myself was a challenge. Not anymore, I needed to fight this thing. I lifted my right hand to my mouth and bit down hard on my hand. I bit down so hard I bled. Pain was the only thing I could focus on, clearing my mind.

'I gotta do something. Fire isn't very effective against this thing, but it's still something.'

Concentrating on my materia and my target, a flame appeared and melted parts of the Airbuster. Barret shot at the melted parts, causing it to spin out of control. It sparked and shined a bright light, followed by a huge explosion. I covered my head, shielding myself from any flying debris. When I looked up, a huge chunk of the bridge was missing, and Cloud was dangling on the edge of it. On the other side were Tifa and Barret.

'Oh shit. Not good, not good at all. I'm on the other side of the bridge.'

I ran as fast as I could over to the edge of the bridge. Tifa was reaching down trying to reach him. "Hold on Cloud." She desperately reached for him, but the gap was to far for her to reach, and to far for me to jump across.

"Tifa, this place is gonna blow! We've got to go!" Barret shouted.

Tifa looked up at me. "Boto! Try to reach him from your end!" I nodded my head and leaned over the edge. Stretching out my hand, I went as far down as I could. It still wasn't enough.

"I-I can't reach him." I tried to go lower but Cloud just looked up at me and shook his head.

"Tifa… Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, you just focus on getting out of here," Cloud said.

"Cloud! Just hang on!" Tifa tried to reach out to him. "We can-" The reactor finally exploded. Tifa almost fell over the edge, only to be caught by Barret and pulled back. Cloud wasn't so lucky. He fell fast, amd before I knew it he was already out of sight.

"Cloud!" Tifa still tried to reach out for him.

"Boto!" Barret shouted. "Get out of here and meet up back at the base! Don't get your ass killed!" I turned around and ran down the path. Everything was still shaking with something exploding every few moments. I had no idea where I was going. I just needed to find the exit and fast.

It seemed as though everyone had already evacuated the area. This was good and bad. Good because I didn't have to worry about someone shooting at me. Bad because I couldn't follow anyone to find the way out.

My fears were quickly discarded. The walkway I was running along suddenly exploded, sending me and chunks of the ground flying. Before I knew it, I was hit in the head with debris and knocked out.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And another chapter re-written! This is going to be a very long process but I intend to see it through to the end! _


	5. Chapter 5: Tower Defense

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Not even the shoes! Even if I did, they would have grown wings and beaten me over the head with them.**_

_A/N: All right! Woo! Chapter five! What's going to happen! I just can't wait! Let's dive in!_

* * *

><p>Chapter Five: Tower Defense<p>

I was sitting at one of the tables next to Marlene. The room was empty except for the two of us. "Are you thirsty?" Marlene asked me.

"Sure." I said.

Now that I think of it, I haven't had much to drink, let alone eat.

Marlene got up and ran over to the refrigerator, she opened it up and pulled out a carton of milk. She pulled out two glasses and filled them up. She then brought them back to the table and handed me one of the cups while she sat down and sipped the other. I took a sip from from it. As soon as it hit my mouth I realized just how thirsty I was. I then began to chug it.

"Slow down, chugging that fast isn't good for you." Marlene said. I finished the cup and began to laugh.

"Ha ha, sorry, I'm just thirsty, and really hungry." I said, looking down at Marlene.

"We have some fruit in the refrigerator if you would like some." Before she even finished speaking I was already at the door pulling out some fruit. It was an apple. I took a huge bite out of it. Before I left back to my seat I grabbed a couple more. I held one out to her, she shook her head. I continued to eat.

Man these things were so good! I was really hungry.

"When do you think the others are going to be done talking to the weird looking guy?" Marlene asked when I had had finished the apples.

What had happened was when the other three returned from their part of the mission, they saw a guy trying to break into the bar. They chased him down and brought him back in. They thought he was just some thief when they noticed he had a Shinra ID card on him.

I know, dumb right?... Who do I keep talking to again? Oh well, anyway, they brought him in and waited for the rest of us to return. When Barret learned about him he brought Tifa in to help him interrogate. Jessie, Biggs and Wedge went down there with them. Barret told me to stay up here and give Marlene some company. They had been down there for hours now.

"Ya know, I don't really know." I told Marlene. She nodded, satisfied with the response. Both of us sat there in silence for a while. I began to get lost in thought.

Hm, how did I manage to do all those moves before. I could have never of done something like that before. When did I start to be able to do those, think... Oh, right! It was when I fought Tifa. But that still doesn't explain how I did that. What was I doing before hand... Thinking about Assassin's Creed? That doesn't make any sense though. Yeah, I pictured my self doing that stuff but I do that all the time. Maybe since I'm here in Gaia I can do so much more stuff! I wonder if I can use the assassin's vision from the game.

I Closed my eyes and pictured seeing everything in blue and white. I really focused on having it. I opened my eyes to find that... It didn't work.

Huh, weird. Oh well, guess that rules out me having awesome powers I can use at any given moment. I still don't know how I got here though. Last thing I can remember was taking a nap before work.

Before I could finish my thoughts the elevator went down, then a moment later it came back up. Tifa was on it. A second later Barret came back up as well.

"Hell no Tifa!" Barret protested.

"It's the only way!" Tifa protested back. I'm going to assume that they are talking about Tifa going into Don Corneo's place to get information about him.

"I don't care, it's way to dangerous for you to go in there!" Barret shouted.

"Who else are you going to send then!" Tifa shouted. Barret went silent for a bit before nodding his head.

"Awright, but if that guy lays a finger on you there's gonna be hell to pay!" Barret shouted.

"Don't worry, I can take care of my self." Tifa said.

Before she left the bar she looked at me and Marlene and kinda' put her head down before leaving the bar.

Both Marlene and I looked at Barret.

"What was that about?" I asked. Barret sighed.

"Ya know that spy we found?" Barret asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, it turns out Shinra knows that AVALACNH is in Sector 7. The thing is, they don't know where in it. So, they decided to send a spy to look around for it." Barret continued.

"He found us out!" Marlene said worried.

"Not exactly." Barret said. "It turns out the guy was gettin' a little thirsty, so he decided to try and break into the bar. Good thing he didn't know my little Marlene was watching the place." Barret said with a grin. "That's when the gang caught him." Barret continued. "I managed to squeeze the name 'Don Corneo' outta him before he passed out. Tifa didn' want to wait for him to wake up so she went to his place to get some information outta him." Batter said while folding his arms.

"So now what do we do?" I asked.

"Now we play the game I hate the most, the watin' game." Barrete said. "Jessie an'

the others are waiting for him to wake up. When he does I'm gonna squeeze more info from him." Barret said.

"Knowing you, it could be pretty brutal." I said speaking from first hand experience as to what he can do. Barret just grinned.

"Is Tifa still mad at me?" I asked finally breaking the silence.

"Nah, I don't think so. She was jus' mad and lookin' for a way to vent." Barret said. I nodded my head in agreement.

I decided to lay back against a wall and get some sleep, I felt really tired all of a sudden. I put my hoody on and I closed my eyes. I quickly fell asleep.

It wasn't too long before someone kicked my side. I fell over.

"Huh, what...!" I said confused and in pain.

"Wake up foo'!" Barret shouted. "We have some important information! An' we gotta move fast!" Barret said with a worried look on his face. I looked around and saw Jessie, Biggs and Wedge were up there as well now.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The spy woke up, took him long enough, said that if he didn't find the hideout in a specific amount of time, Shinra was going to blow the pillar holding up the plate to Sector seven!" Jessie said.

"Crap!" I shouted. Not because the plate was being threatened, but because of the fact that I hadn't come up with a plan to stop Jessie, Biggs and Wedge from being killed. Let alone stop the plate from falling.

"Awright, so here's the plan." Barret started. "All of us are going to go to the pillar and hold off the Shinra troops!" Barret shouted.

"Sounds like a plan!" Biggs shouted, everyone but me agreed.

"Wait!" I shouted out. Now I really had to think of something and fast.

"I don't think the those three guys should be fighting!" I protested. Everyone looked and me with confused looks.

"What! Why not!" Wedge shouted.

"You guys told me this your selves, that you aren't much of fighters!" I shouted back. "What are you going to do up there! I'm not trying to be mean but chances are you are going to die!" I shouted.

"It's my call!" Barret shouted. "We may need them up there! What if they have a bomb and none of us know how to defuse it!" He argued back. Come on brain, don't fail me now. You always pull through when I'm looking for excuses to be lazy!

"What if there is and they can't defuse it either! What if it's only something that a Turk knows how to defuse!" I shouted.

"Why would they bring a Turk!" Barret shouted.

"Think about it! They are going to destroy a whole sector! Don't you think that they would want this done as efficiently as possible!" I argued back. Barret mumbled to him self before responding.

"Awright, what would you have them do instead?" Barret asked.

"They could evacuate people or something." I said.

"What! You think that we are gonna to fail!" Barret shouted.

"I would rather be safe then sorry!" I shouted. Barret went silent while all of us watched him. Come on! Please say yes!

"Awright! Biggs! Jessie! Wedge! You guys are going to get as many people out as possible! Take Marlene with you! Boto, you're with me at the tower!" Barret shouted.

Yes! So far my plan is working! Now let's see if I can stop Reno from pressing that button!

"What about the spy?" Jessie asked.

"Leave him here! We don't have a whole lot of time!" Barret shouted. All of us ran out the door.

When we were about half way to the tower Barret to everyone else to split up. They all agreed and ran off to try to get as many people out as possible. Me and Barret on the other hand headed straight for the tower.

When we arrived there was already a few guards standing watch. One was at the gate, there were two at the stairs, and one was just walking around.

"I guess they aren't trying to make a big stick out of this then." I said to Barret as we slowly walked up to the gate.

"Awright, here's how we're gonna' do this..." Barret said as he walked up to the guard.

"Sir, this area is restricted to all citizens." The guard said as we walked up. Barret quickly pointed his gun arm at him and opened fire. He shot him in the legs and kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

"Get yo ass moving up these stair now!" Barret said as he opened fire on the two standing watch of the stairs. He did the same thing as before.

"This is your plan! Charge in guns blazing!" I shouted. Barret didn't answer, he was already going up the stair as fast as he could.

I saw the last guard on a PHS, looked like he was calling in back up. I quickly ran up to him and tackled him. We rolled on the ground for a bit before he kicked me off of him. Both of us got back up as quickly as we could. He was up first.

He tried to punch me but I grabbed his wrist and pulled it to the ground, making him lean forward. I then head butted him as hard as I could. He was down and out.

I rubbed my head, it hurt a lot more then I thought it would. I searched his pockets for stuff before I ran up the stairs. I got a couple of potions and some gil.

As I was headed up the stairs I heard the sound of some heli-troopers. I looked out into the distance and saw a swarm of them heading to the tower.

"Aw crap, this is gonna be Hell." I said as I made my way up the steps.

I was only a few flights up the stairs when I ran into some of the heli-troopers. There was only two of them for now. Most of them seemed to be focusing on where Barret was.

I got into my fighting stance, raising both of my fists up and one leg farther up then the other.

The first one to attack was one of the heli-troopers. He charged at me. I was able to avoid his attack by side stepping put of the way but the second guy came out of no where and hit me hard.

I fell back on rolled down the steps a little. I got back up. I had this strange feeling come over me, like I was suddenly full of energy.

I charged at the nearest guy. I jumped high into the air and did a sideways kick, my foot made contact with his face. He hit the floor hard. He was knocked out

"D-did I just do a limit break!" I said in astonishment. Before I had time to continue the second guy was making an attack. I dodged that attack and quickly grabbed his other arm. I threw him off balance and he came crashing to the stairs.

He got back up and tried to attack me with his propeller. I ducked under the attack. I then quickly dove forward and tackled him, both of us went down the stairs more. I used his body as a shield from the stairs.

Once I was sure he was knocked out I pick-pocketed him and continued going up.

I already heard gun fire coming from above. Barret must have been getting hit harder then I was. A couple more heil-troopers where headed my way. I focused on my Materia and made a swiping motion at them two guys once they were close enough.

Fire quickly hit one of the guys and he spun out of controll. He hit the other one and they both fell and hit the stairs pretty hard.

I continued my assault on the tower.

Barret made it to the top before I did. He was busy holding off heli-troopers, looked like there was about five of them. I jumped in and helped him out.

" 'Bout time you showed up!" He shouted while firing at one of the heli-troopers.

"It's not my fault you ditched me!" I shouted back as one of the troopers charged me.

I jumped out of the way only for a second one to hit me. More of them kept coming. I looked to my left only to see a helicopter on it's way.

"Crap!" I shouted as I got back up. This situation kept going from bad to worse. Suddenly, it all went down the drain. I heard a voice that I hoped I wouldn't here up here.

"Hey!" Wedge shouted. I looked over at him horrified.

"I though I told you guys to evacuate the sector!" Barret shouted.

"You know us! We can't stay away from a good fight! Besides, we though you could use the help! Jessie and Biggs are at the bottom holding off some more guys! Don't worry about Marlene, we dropped her off at the bar!" Wedge shouted.

"Wedge look out!" I shouted. One of the heli-troopers charged him while he wasn't looking.

I was too late to warn him, he was hit. He quickly fell over the edge of the tower.

"Wedge!" Barret and I shouted in horror as he fell. I tried to run over to the edge to see if I could help him some how but I already knew that it was to late.

Barret and I fought off as many of the heli-troopers as we could before the helicopter showed up.

I was standing near one of the edges when it opened fire at me. I tried to dodge it, only to end up falling off the side of the tower.

"Boto!" I heard Barret yell as I fell.

I fell for a little bit before catching one of the bars that was sticking out from the tower.

My heart was racing, I almost died. I looked to the left of me and saw Cloud and Tifa making their way up the stairs. I looked up and saw that I wasn't to far from the top, though it would take me a while to get back up by climbing.

I was actually going up it pretty well. I though about it and, once again, it reminded me of Assassin's Creed of how Altair or Ezio would climb up a building.

As I was climbing the side of the tower I heard the helicopter still making its rounds. I looked up and saw Reno jump from the helicopter and on to the tower.

"No!" I shouted. I was to late, he had already made it to the bomb. I tried to climb up the tower as fast as I could.

I was almost to the top when I saw the helicopter slowly going up. It was still a ways below me.

I guess while they were fighting Reno it took off to get Tseng and Aeris. Since Marlene was back at the bar I guess she went back with Aeris.

I had finally made it to the top. I grabbed the railing and pulled my self back up, just in time to catch Reno about to jump over the edge. The only problem fro Reno, I was in his way.

"Like Hell you are!" I shouted as I tackled him.

"What the...!" Reno shouted out in surprise as I tackled him.

"Boto!" Everyone shouted out in surprise.

Reno and I fought each other while rolling around on the ground. Punches and kicks were going all over the place.

"Reno!" Some one had shouted, it was Tseng, he had Aeris with him. "It's time to go, this place is about to blow!" Tseng shouted.

"In a sec yo!" Reno shouted as he finally kicked me off of him.

"Aeris!" Tifa shouted.

Thanks for just standing around and watching me fight him guys!

Cloud and Barret were trying to hold off some left over heli-troopers while Tifa was trying to disarm the bomb.

Reno was making a run for the helicopter.

"I said, like Hell you are!" I shouted and chased after him.

I don't know why I chased him or why I tackled him as he jumped for the helicopter. Maybe it was blind fury, maybe it was just desperate to do something. I know that most of it was a blur and not much else.

The only thing I do remember is tackling him in mid jump, both of us falling and a giant explosion. Everything went dark after that...

* * *

><p><em>AN: Yup, I just totally just did that. Yeah, I know, I'm a jerk... What! You're not interested in the story! You don't care if Boto dies or not! But but, I put so much work into this! Fine then, I will just stop working on this! Nah, I'm just kidding. I konw there are readers out there reading this, much thanks to all of you. What happens next! You're just going to have to wait until next week to find out._


	6. Chapter 6: Assault On Shinra

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my self and the U.S Army... Okay, I don't own that either.**_

_A/N: All right, I know I said you will have to wait until next week to read the next chapter but I decided to post it a wee bit early and not leave you hanging. Unlike some people on this site that I know of! Nah, I'm just kidding. Here's chapter six._

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><p>Chapter Six: Assault On Shinra<p>

"Ah, what? What time is it?" I said as I was laying down. My body didn't want to move even though my mind was yelling at me to get up. I didn't want to open mt eyes, my bed was to comfortable.

"Man, I'm so tired, I just want to lay here all day... Wait, this isn't my bed... I'm not at my apartment either." I said before my eyes shot open.

The sight that I saw wasn't pretty at all. Everything was in chaos. Destroyed buildings and large portions of the plate lay everywhere.

My eyes widened at the horrific sight. I sat up and looked around the place. Everything looked dead, there was no sounds what so ever.

I looked next to me and saw something I didn't expect, or someone I didn't expect. It was Reno. I instantly checked his pulse to see if he was still alive. He was. He was also breathing.

I tried to remember how we ended up here when it all came rushing back to me. While Reno was jumping for the helicopter I tackled him. He ended up missing it and we both fell as soon as the plate began to fall.

_ "_How did we survive the fall!" I said out loud. I looked at Reno, expecting him to say something. He didn't, he just laid there.

I put my head down. All those people... Dead. Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, they had died. They didn't listen.

Suddenly I didn't want to be here any more, I didn't belong here. I belong at home, where it's safe. I belong at my boring job with my boring school. That seemed like the life to me right now. I so badly wanted to go home. This was just a video game that I was in.

Wait, this isn't a video game anymore. This is now real.

I picked up the dirt from the ground a let it fall from my hands. I felt the dirt, I felt it slide from my hands. I looked up and saw the sky, it was night. I pinched my self, I felt the slight sting, it was real. I had to get a hold of my self. Sitting here complaining about this won't change the fact that it happened. What will cause something to change is if I get up and move.

I stood up, a bit wobbly but it didn't last for long. I had to think of something do to.

Come on, think... Shinra! I should head to the main building! I don't know how long it's been but if I hurry, I may be able to catch up to Cloud and the others!

I heard something start to ring. I looked around a bit confused at first thinking it was my phone. I pulled it out, it wasn't even on, it still looks like it works though. I then realized that the ringing was coming from Reno. It was his PHS. I walked over to him, dug around in his pockets, and answered it,

"Hello?" I said a bit nervously.

"Reno" A voice said, sounded like Tseng. "Good, your alive, we were beginning to worry about you for a moment. Give us your location and we will come and pick you up... Hello? Reno?" Tseng said.

"He's alive." I said before I hung the phone up. I didn't want to deal with the Turks right now. Speaking of Turks, what should I do with Reno... Well, only one thing I can think of. Steal his stuff, I mean, come on! Who else can say that they mugged a Turk!

I knelt down next to him again and started checking his pockets. I pulled out his wallet first. I opened it up and saw that he only had thirty seven gil on him.

"Wow, you're dirt poor aren't you?" I said out loud. "Let's see what else you have, a Shinra ID, a life time membership to The Honey Bee Inn... Not much else in here." I said as I began to look through the rest of his pockets. I ended up finding that Materia that traps you inside of that pyramid and his rod that can electrocute you. Also, just to insult him, I took his goggles.

Before I left, I put a potion next to him for when he wakes up.

Hey, Just because I mugged him doesn't mean I'm a jerk.

I left looking for a way to get out of the huge mess. I started to climb some rubble when one of the things I was holding on to came lose and I fell down. It fell next to me.

"Ow! Okay, let's not try that again." I said as I got back up. I looked over at what was lose. It was a huge cross covered in a bunch of white sheets and some straps on it. I started to walk away from it when something hit me. I turned around and knelt down next to it.

"This looks familiar... No, It couldn't be..." I said as I began to remove the sheets from it. When I was done my eyes widened.

'What the... What this doing here! This is from something completely different!" I picked up the huge cross and stood it up right.

"Punisher" I said silently. "This is from Trigun, what's it doing here?" I said as I tried to lift it up.

"Holy crap! This thing is really heavy!" I said as I lifted it up. I wasn't going let a puppy like this escape from me. I looked at the center of it and put my hand in the skull shaped center. I tried to life it up with one hand, I was able to hold it up but boy was it heavy. I felt around it for one of the triggers. As soon as I pulled it the metal covering on the long end opened up to reveal to barrels. Double machine gun.

After a while the metal casing closed on it's own. I set it back down, standing it up fully. It came to the top of my ear, I'm six foot. I pulled another trigger and the right arm of it opened up, revealing four pistols inside of it. I pressed it again and it closed. I pressed another, the left side of it opened, showing where the ammo went for the machine gun part of it. I had to close this one by hand. I pressed the last trigger. The top of it opened up, a rocket launcher.

"Man, no wonder why Woolfwood says this thing is full of mercy." I said, laughing a little.

I picked up on of the straps that was holding in the sheets on it and put it around Punisher. I then strapped it around my self, making it possible to carry on my back. I didn't think I would need the sheets to cover it up. That would just get annoying having to cover it back up every time I took it out.

"Alright!" I said with a grin in my face. "Lets find a way up!" I said as I took off.

It took a while to go through the rubble but I managed to find a hidden escape later that went to the top of the plate. By the looks of it, it was meant for Shinra Employees only but sense the plate fell it was out in the open.

I started to climb.

It was going to be a long climb and with Punisher on my back it was going to be a really hard climb.

* * *

><p>Cloud, Barret and Tifa were being escorted by Tseng and Rude to President Shinra. Cloud hoped that Aeris and Red XIII where able to escape. While they were walking Tseng's PHS began to ring. He picked it up.<p>

"Reno?" He said in his usual calm tone.

"You're damn right it's Reno yo!" Reno shouted, he was pissed. Cloud could hear him on the other line.

"What happened? Who's with you?" Tseng asked.

"What do you mean who's with me yo! No one is!" Reno shouted.

"When I called you earlier, some one had picked up your PHS and said that you were still alive, then they hung up." Tseng said

"Your damn right I'm still alive, I was also mugged yo!" Reno shouted. Tseng just sighed.

"You had your stuff stolen?" Tseng said. irritation in his voice.

"Yeah! Took my stuff while I was knocked out! They took everything! My wallet! My Materia! My weapons! Hell, they even took my goggles!" Reno shouted.

"They?" Tseng asked.

"Y-Yeah yo! They! There was a lot of them, I had to fight them off, almost won to until they cheated and came up from behind or something yo!" Reno shouted again.

"Uh-huh, just give me your location and we will pick you up." Tseng said, not believing his story at all.

"I'm in the middle of all the rubble from the plate yo." Reno said after a little while.

"Be there in a few" Tseng said. Before Reno could respond Tseng turned his PHS off and sighed.

"You think it's Boto?" Tifa whispered to Cloud.

"I don't know, it could be." Cloud whispered back.

"Cut the whispering you two." Rude said. They continued on in silence.

* * *

><p>After what seemed like ages, turns out it was only ten or fifteen minuets, I came to a hatch at the top. I grabbed it, turned it to the left and pushed it open. When I climbed out I took a sigh of relief.<p>

"Man, that was tiring! I'm glad that's over!" I said with a tired grin. I looked around to see where I was.

I was standing on what looked like a highway. I looked down one end of it and there was a bunch if building. I looked down the other end of it and saw the Shinra main headquarters. It looked like a good three mile jog to it.

"Guahhhh!" I groaned. "All this climbing and jogging is going to kill me!" I said as I sat down.

The entire road was empty. I decided to catch my breath before starting my assault.

After a few minuets I decided to do something That I haven't done in a while. I pulled out my i-phone and headphones. I turned it on and began to listen to my music. The first song to pop up, 'Resistance'. I let it play for a bit before I got up and began to jog.

"Lets see if my running skill will come in handy now." I said as I began to jog.

About half way through he Jog I was already tired and out of breath.

"Water... Water..." I wheezed before sitting down. The current song that was playing was 'Dear Jessie'.

"Yes, even though my name isn't Jessie, I do see the roses raining on the love parade." I said tired and out of breath. I looked off into the distance and saw a helicopter leaving towards what was left of Sector Seven.

"They must be going after Reno." I said before getting back up and running again.

* * *

><p>After about an hour of searching, Tseng and Rude finally found Reno. He didn't look to good, he was covered in bruises and bleeding. Also, he was limping. He was pissed off big time.<p>

"It's about time yo!" Reno shouted.

"Sorry, it's hard to find anything in all this rubble." Tseng said as the helicopter began to take off.

"What ever yo! I just want to find the punk who stole my stuff yo!" Reno said as he sat down.

"Do you think it was that guy in the black hoody?" Tseng asked.

"Hell if I know! It most likely is since he fell with me yo." Reno said as he looked out the window.

"Well, no to long ago we got reports from the computer system of a man in a black hoody carrying a giant cross using your ID to use the elevator." Tseng said.

"What! And you guys didn't stop him yo!" Reno shouted. Rude and Tseng both looked at each other.

"We normally would have but you see the thing is, the building was evacuated a few minuets before he arrived." Tseng said with a serious look on his face.

"What? Why?" Reno asked looking confused.

"Because, there were also reports of people being murdered by someone with a sword and black cape." Tseng said. "Everyone had to evacuate, we were still looking for you when we got the order."

Reno's jaw dropped. "And the president?" He asked.

"Dead." Tseng said in a deadpan voice. "We are on our way to retrieve the new President, Rufus Shinra." Tseng said.

"Well alright then yo, maybe the little punk got what's coming to him yo." Reno said as he leaned back.

* * *

><p>"Finally... Made it!" I said out of breath. I pulled out my head phones and put my i-phone in my pocket. I walked to the front doors of the place.<p>

"All right, depending on what time it is I can either charge into the front or climb up all those steps... Yup, I'm going in through the front. I don't think that they'll know who I am." I said as I slowly walked to the front doors. I went inside and felt the cold air on my face, it felt good.

"Man, I should have taken my hoody off, it feels nice in here. Oh well, to late now." I said as I walked into the building. I was quiet in here. No one was in there, either they were on break or... I didn't want to think about the other option. I looked around from something to drink. I saw a water fountain on the wall and ran over to it.

"Finally! Water!" I said out loud. I stood there for a few minuets drinking from it, it felt good.

"Okay" I said to my self when I had finished drinking the water. "How am I going to get to the top." I looked around and saw the elevators that lead you to the 60th floors and what not.

"Hmm, I wonder." I said as I walked over to it, pulling out Reno's wallet. I pulled out his ID card. I walked into the elevator and swiped the card. I looked at the little monitor and all the floors lit up, even the ones above the 60th floor.

"Awesome! I guess Turks have all access passes to the floors, the don't need to used separate cards." I said as I decided which floor I should go to.

"Alright, I have no idea when Sephiroth comes so I guess I will pick... the 66th floor, lets give that a try." I pressed the button and the doors closed. The elevator started to quickly go up. I leaned against the window as I relaxed a bit. Trying to push the idea of Sephiroth already being there out of my mind. I had convinced my self that the worst that could happen was that I get caught and thrown into the holding cell with Cloud and the others. I closed my eyes for a bit. Suddenly they shot open.

"Oh crap! I didn't collect a single Turtle's Paradise coupon! Oh well, if I recall correctly, I think I may just need to tell them person in Wutai where all the coupons are." I said as I relaxed again. It wasn't to long until I made it to 66th floor. The doors opened, everything looked fine but just in case, I decided to use one of the pistols that Punisher stored and Reno's EMR. I had those at the ready, gun in my right hand, rod in the other. I was holding it CQC style.

I walked out of there nice and slowly. So far, so good. As soon as I turned the corner I instantly regretted leaving the elevator. Standing about twenty feet away from me was a man being stabbed. The person stabbing him? Sephiroth, his back was turned to me. The worst part, he was carrying Jenova.

I couldn't move, my feet were frozen to the ground.

Sephiroth pulled the sword out from the man and he hit the floor with a thud. He was about to walk away without noticing me when suddenly he stopped. He leaned his head down next to Jenova, as though he were listening to her. His head then shot up. He turned around and looked at me, hatred in his eyes. The worst part of it? It wasn't when Sephiroth drew his sword, it wasn't when he started walking to me, no. It was when he first turned around. When he turned around, Jenova was pointing at me.

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><p><em>AN: To be continued in the next chapter._


	7. Chapter 7: Mother

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my little apartment that I'm renting... Well, not even that.**_

_A/N: I've got some bad news everyone. Remember the car that I was talking about in chapter one? Well, it's dead now. I don't have a car now and we are expecting a huge snow storm. On a brighter note, here's chapter seven._

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><p>Chapter Seven: Mother<p>

I was frozen in my spot, Sephiroth was slowly walking towards me with Jenova, pointing at me. Every step he took seemed to put another nail in my coffin that I had made when I stepped out of the elevator. His sword was drawn. What I did next surprised me.

I quickly put away my pistol into one of my pockets. Instead I replaced it with the Materia that I had stolen from Reno. I focused on the Materia and a pyramid formed around Sephiroth.

Sephiroth stopped in his tracks and stared at the pyramid. He hit it with his sword, nothing happened. He hit it again, still nothing.

My eyes widened.

D-did I just trap him!

Before I had more time to think he hit it again, this time it cracked.

I saw a smirk appear on his face. It wasn't going to hold for very long. I didn't the only thing I could do at a time like this. Run. I ran as fast as I could, any moment now Sephiroth was going to be on my tail.

"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" I was finally able to say something. As I was running through the hall I noticed that there were bodies laying on the floor. That made me run even faster. I heard something.

It sounded like a whisper, an echoing whisper. I couldn't make it out at first but the more I ran the clearer it was.

"Why do you run from me my child?" The whisper echoed in my head. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Wh-what?" I said confused. I looked around to see if anyone was there. No one was there.

"Why do you run from me my child." The voice echoed again, only this time it wasn't a whisper. It was a woman's voice. It was soft and soothing but frightening at the same time.

"Who..." My voice trailed off. I didn't know what to say.

"I know you." The voice said, even louder now.

"How?" Was my response. It was the only thing I could thing of saying.

"Because I brought you into this world, my child." The voice said. My eyes widened at those words. I didn't know what to say to that.

"I saw you had... Knowledge, knowledge that I would need. Knowledge to help me with my plans." The voice continued once it realized that I wasn't going to continue.

"Jenova..." I said silently.

"Yes, my child." She said, as though she were right next to me.

I turned my head to see if she was, the room was empty. I decided to try to talk to her more.

"Why?" I said. That was the only thing I was able to say.

"Why what?" She answered back.

"Why did you choose me, me of all the people to choose from. I can guarantee you that there are people out there who know so much more then I do. How can I help?" I asked.

"It's not your average knowledge I'm after. No, it's the knowledge that you somehow know what's going to happen in the future of this world. That, is something that I need to know." She said.

"As I told you, there are plenty of people out there that know more then me." I said. I had lost focus of the world around me.

"I know, I chose you because you were the first one I stumbled upon." She answered. I didn't know what to say to that.

"The fact is, I still chose you. I could have skipped you but I didn't. Therefore, you are mine, my child." She said soothingly. I hesitated before I responded.

"No." I finally said.

"No what?" She asked curiously.

"No, I'm not yours. I don't care how you brought me here but I want you to take me back, back to my home." I said sternly.

"I can't do that my child, this is your home now." She said. My eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean that I cannot take you back to your original home. I'm only capable of taking, not giving. For example, I gave you the ability to fight, I gave you the weapon you carry on your back, I protect your mind from breaking down. With that, I can only do so much. I gave you life when you fell. Since the other one was in contact with you at the time, I had no choice but to give him life as well." She said.

I couldn't believe this. Everything that has been happening was because of her, everything that I have is because of her. Why I'm here is because of her.

"If you help me" Jenova continued, "Then I will be able to take you back if you so desire."

I thought about it.

Was she telling the truth? Would I be able to go back home? I could go home... Wait, if she is able to pull things out of worlds, and is telling the truth about it, can put things back, what if she puts her self in another world as well.

"Who's to say you won't take over mine?" I asked.

"That's the plan." She said. It felt like my heart stopped.

How is this even possible! This is a video game! Sure I'm in it but once I leave, it will still be a video game! But, by the simple fact that I'm here... Does that mean this is an actual world? I don't know...

"If you come with me, my child, you can have more power then you could ever have imagined. Until you acknowledge the fact that you are mine, I can't help you as much as I wish to. Don't worry, I treat my children well." She said again in a soothing voice.

I'm not going to lie, the offer was tempting. But something in my head kept bugging, telling me to not trust her.

"The first thing you have to do, it just come to me, my child." She said.

"No." I said softly.

"I'm sorry, but the first step has already been made." Jenova said, still in a soothing voice.

I felt a cold chill go down my spine. I lowly turned around. Sephiroth was standing quit a distance away from me.

"This is him mother?" Sephiroth said, raising one eyebrow. He stood there in silence before responding. "But he's so pathetic... Yes mother." He said before walking to me.

I was about to use the same tactic as before when suddenly, he was right in front of me. I couldn't move. I was literally, scared stiff.

Jenova reached her hand out towards me. It was slow. I tried to move.

Come on! Move! Move!

My mind kept telling me to move but I couldn't. Before I knew it, she was touching my face. Everything went dark.

"You are mine now. My child." Jenova said, once again, in a soothing voice. Like a mother comforting her child.

"Yes... Mother." I responded.

* * *

><p>[Earlier]<p>

Cloud was leaning against the wall in his cell. Now that he knew everyone was okay, for now, he was going to get some sleep. Before he closed his eyes Tifa started speaking to him.

"Hey Cloud?" Tifa said.

"Hm?" Cloud responded.

"Do you really think that the person who mugged that Turk was Boto?" Tifa asked.

"I dunno', it could be. Why do you ask?" Cloud said, looking up at Tifa.

"Well, before I left the bar to Don's place, I got mad at him for letting you fall... I thought you died. I never really apologized to him." Tifa said softly.

"Yo, Tifa, don't let it get to you." Barret interrupted. "He didn't seem to mind so much.  
>'Sides, he probably did survive that fall. You saw how he climbed back up the tower after he fell. An' if that Turk survived, I'm betin' he did too." Barret said to her.<p>

"Who's Boto?" Aeris asked.

"A guy who joined AVALANCHE and went missing after the plate fell." Cloud responded.

"If you don't mind, I would like to get some rest." Red XIII said. Everyone went silent after that. Cloud closed his eyes and after a few minuets fell asleep.

* * *

><p>[Present]<p>

My eyes shot open. I was laying down on the ground. I instantly stood up. The only thing I could remember at the moment was the word mother. I noticed that I was still holding on to the EMR. I tied it through a little loop where a belt was supposed to go on to my pants. I walked around a bit trying to remember where I was, it looked like a meeting room or something.

Wait, meeting room... That's right! I'm on the 66th floor of the Shinra building! Wait... Jenova!

My eyes widened at the realization of what happened. I had called her mother.

"Why did I call her mother?" I said starting to shake. I was beginning to freak out.

"How did she manage to make me and Reno survive that fall? How did she bring me here?" I kept asking my self a bunch of questions. But the one I returned to the most was, "Why did I call her mother?" I didn't have time to answer these questions. I heard voices coming from outside the meeting room. Good thing the doors were closed.

"What are our targets again?" One of the voices asked.

"Our targets are the ones who have escaped the from the cells. The guy with the Chocobo hair, the girl with the big... hair, the guy with the gun arm, the Ancient, and Hojo's escaped project, that dog looking thing." A second voice said.

"What are we doing carrying the Heli Gunner then?" The first voice asked.

"Three of them were spotted going down this elevator not to long ago. We sent the Hundred Gunner after them but it won't be enough, so we are sending this in as backup. So help me open that elevator door." The second voice said. I decided to sneak up to the door and open it a little. I saw two soldiers holding a shut down Heli Gunner. They both put it down and started wrenching the elevator door open.

"What was the name of that target the Turks wanted again?" Said the soldier that sounded like it was the first voice.

"Their targets code name is Hoody due to the fact that he's wearing a black hoody or something." Said the second soldier.

"What did he do to piss the Turks off?" The first one asked.

"I don't know but he must have a death wish or something, that is if he survived. Help me turn this thing on." The second one said.

Hoody? That was the most dumbest code name I've ever heard. But wait, if they are sending down the Heli Gunner that means everyone is on there way down... Which means I don't have much time to get down there my self! Oh crap! What am I going to do!

I heard the propellers on the Heli Gunner start up. I looked at it and it slowly made it's way to the open elevator door.

I'm surprised that it could fit through there. Wait, I have an idea! It's crazy but it just might work. I have to move fast though. I pulled out the goggles I had stolen from Reno and put them on.

I opened the door wide but silently. The two soldiers weren't paying attention to me and neither was the Heli Gunner. When the Heli Gunner was almost out the elevator doors I made a mad dash for it. I tackled one of it's gun arms as soon as it made it out the door. Both of the soldiers were caught off guard by me.

I wasn't able to hear what they had to say because the Heli Gunner and I started descending fast. The Heli Gunner looked like it was panicking... If it could panic. I was holding on for dear life. It started to slow down till it just came to a hover. It tried to fire it's gun arms but the one I was holding on to wouldn't move. The other one started firing but couldn't hit me. It kept at that for a while.

"Holy crap!" I shouted as I looked down. We were up pretty high. I was barely able to make out Red, Barret and Aeris. Looks like they had already destroyed the Hundred Gunner. They were almost to the first floor. I had to find a way to get this thing to go down.

Suddenly the Heli Gunner started descending really quickly. It started to spin on it's way down. I guess it figured out it wasn't going to hit me at that rate.

I held on to it tighter, I hated spinning around so much. After a few minuets I couldn't tell which way was which. I was loosing my grip on it's gun arm. I closed my eyes and tried to hold on. Next thing I knew, I was flung off of it and crashed through a window. I fell for a few seconds before I hit the ground. I landed on my side. It hurt but luckily it wasn't that far of a fall. I felt like I was going to puke.

"Boto!" I heard someone shout my name. I looked up and saw Cloud on his motorcycle, Tifa driving a truck, Aeris in the passenger seat, and everyone else was in the back of it. They were all looking at me as though I had just fallen out of the sky... Which I guess I just did.

"Ju wha... Huh?" I said as I stood back up. Suddenly the whole room was up-side down and I fell back over. I heard some one run over to me and pick me up.

"How in the Hell do you keep popin' up outta now where! And why are you carrying a giant cross!" Barret shouted. He was the one that helped me up.

" I don't know!" I shouted back. I don't know why I'm shouting.

He escorted me to the truck and put me in it. As soon as the both of us were in Tifa drove up the steps, following Cloud.

When everything had stopped spinning I looked up. We had just crashed though the window and onto the freeway. Cloud slowed down and was now tailing us as the other soldiers began to follow us. He began to swing his sword at them and ram them into the walls. One of them managed to get close to the truck and ram it.

"Barret! Help Cloud out!" Tifa shouted.

"I'm on it!" Barret shouted back. He began to open fire on enemies following us. I was feeling a little bit less dizzy. I pulled out the pistol I had in my pocket.

"Are you sure your able to aim! You still look pretty bad!" Red shouted.

"I'm fi- Holly crap a talking dog!" I shouted back. I somehow forgot that Red was able to speak. He just hung his head low for a bit and sighed. I began to open fire. I missed every time I fired. I was either a really bad shot or still really dizzy. I had no idea how many rounds I had fired before I ran out. I decided it was time to see what Punisher could really do. I stood up.

"Sit yo ass back down!" Barret shouted at me.

"Hold on, I'm doing something!" I shouted back at him. I unstrapped Punisher and opened up the right side of it. I put the pistol back in it's place and then closed. I then picked up Punisher and held it in my right hand and slightly pulled the trigger. The metal casing on it opened up. I aimed for the nearest target.

"What the!" Barret shouted. I pulled the trigger and opened fire. Instantly the gun started going up, I almost fell backwards.

"The recoil on this puppy is crazy!" I shouted as I tried to hold the gun down.

Barret and Red XIII Were staring at me, there eyes were wide. I continued to fire. I didn't hit anything but they still kept swerving away from the bullets so it kept them away from the truck. It wasn't to long before Motorball was charging after us. We suddenly slammed to a halt. I fell out of the truck.

"Ow! Son of a-" I looked back and saw that we had come to the end of the rode. Cloud came to a screeching halt as well.

"Come on! Everyone get ready for battle! We have to stop that thing before it rams us off of here!" Cloud shouted. I stood up holding Punisher, aiming it at Motorball. Barret stood next to me getting ready to fire.

"Aim for the wheels!" Barret shouted. Barret started shooting while Cloud started casting lightning. Aeris stood back getting ready to cast ice. Red and Tifa stood back getting ready to fight. I was about to pull the trigger when I thought of something. I got down on one knee, putting Punisher on my shoulder, having the top of it face Motorball.

"Please don't miss!" I shouted. I then pulled the trigger to it and the top opened up. I pulled it again and a small rocket came out of it. It made contact with the right wheel. There was a pretty big explosion that knocked some of us down, when I say some, I mean me. When I looked back half of the machine was missing. It wasn;t going anywhere now.

"Wooooo! And the fat guy saves us all again!" I shouted out as I stood back up. I strapped Punisher onto my back again. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from the front.

"You're alive!" Tifa shouted. She held onto me for a couple of seconds before letting go. My face turned red. The only thing that I could think of right now was that Tifa was hugging me... I'm such a loser.

"Let the boy go, he's redder then Red XIII over here." Barret said. Tifa let go.

"Sorry." She said.

"Ju huh wha fa?" Best pickup line ever.

"For yelling at you before." Tifa replied.

"When was this?" I asked tilting my head to the left.

"Before we left from the bar..." Tifa traild off. I gave her a confused look, I really had forgotten what she was talking about.

"Just forget about it." I said. She gave me a small smile.

"Hello, you're that guy that bought the flower from me before aren't you? You gave me that weird paper." Aeris stepped up and asked.

"Huh, oh, right, the name is Robert, just call me Boto though." I said holding out my hand to Aeris. I looked over at Nanaki.

"And you are...?" I trailed off, pretending not to know his name.

"Call me Red XIII, or as you put it, the Holy Crap a talking dog." Red said. I rubbed the back of my head nervously and gave a weak laugh. Cloud walked up to me.

"As many questions as all of us have right now, now is not the time to ask them." He said. He then walked to the end of the freeway. Everyone followed.

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked.

"Sephiroth is alive. I... I have to settle the score." Cloud said looking off into the distance.

"And that'll save the planet?" Barret asked.

"Seems like it." Cloud replied.

"Awright, I'm going." Barret said while nodding his head.

"I'll go too. … I have things that I want to find out." Aeris said.

"About the Ancients?" Cloud asked.

"... Many things." Aeris replied.

"What about you Boto?" Cloud asked.

"I've got nowhere else to go. Besides, I think I might be able to get back my memories if I go with you guys. I don't know how though. Maybe I'll see something that will jog my memory." I lied. The reason why I was going was so that I could try to at least make some sort of difference while I was here. Also, what ever it was that Jenova did to make me call her mother, I had to figure that out. The, find a way to get rid of it.

"I guess this's good bye, Midgar." Tifa said. We all just looked off into he distance for a little while.

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><p><em>AN: Woo! Finally almost out of Midgar! Thanks for sticking around this long everyone! See you in the next chapter! Also, please remember to review. Thank you!_


	8. Chapter 8: On The Rode

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything! If I did I would have more wittier things to say in these disclaimers.**_

_A/N: Alright everyone! Chapter eight is about to start! We're finally about to get out of Midgar! Let us begin then._

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><p>Chapter Eight: On The Rode<p>

Rufus Shinra was sitting at his desk rubbing his temples with his hands. He had a long day and it was only getting longer. They had a prison break, Sephiroth had escaped and now, he had a Turk standing before him complaining about some guy in a hoody. The Turk looked pretty beat up too.

"Tell me again, what is your request?" Rufus asked

"I want permission to chase and hunt down this man with the force of your soldiers behind me." Reno said, showing a picture of a guy standing in the elevator. He felt like a father talking to his kid.

"You seemed to have already done that, if I'm correct you told my men that they were to look for target code named 'Hoody'?" Rufus asked. Raising one eyebrow. Reno just rubbed the back of his head and mumbled something.

"What did Tseng say about this situation?" Rufus asked.

"He said to check with the higher ups yo." Reno said, forgetting not to use the word 'yo' when talking the president. Rufus sighed.

"Fine, you may have a small group of soldiers. But your target is this man and this man alone." Rufus said pointing to the guy in the hoody. Reno grinned.

"Thanks yo!" Reno was about to leave when Rufus stopped him.

"One question." Rufus said. "Why do you want him hunted down so badly?" He asked. Reno rubbed the back of his head again.

"It's personal..." Reno trailed off. Rufus sighed again.

"Fine, do as you wish." He said, waving Reno off.

* * *

><p>"Okay, let's find a way out of the city." I said, putting my goggles around my neck. I started looking along the edge of the freeway for that cable, or rope, or what ever it was everyone used to climb down. Everyone was looking at me.<p>

"What?" I asked looking back at them.

"What are you doing?" Cloud asked.

"I'm looking for a way... Down!" I shouted as I found the huge cable the led outside of Midgar. I tugged on it making sure that it wasn't loose. It wasn't.

"I found a cable we could climb down." I said looking back at everyone.

"That's good and all but, how is Red going to go down the rope?" Aeris asked.

Huh, ya know the game never explained how he managed to get down from there. I guess if he were to cling to someones shoulders or something on the way down.

"Someone will have to carry him on their shoulders." I said as I looked around. My eyes landed on Barret. Everyone else seemed to agree with me because they were looking at him as well. Barret sighed.

"Awright, I'll do it." He said walking over to Nanaki.

"Wait!" I shouted.

"What?" Barret asked.

"I'll go first, I'll make sure that the cable is strong enough to support us." I said as I walked over to it.

I tugged on the line one more time before I started to climb down.

Well, so far this isn't bad. The cable seems strong enough to support us. I wonder how long this climb will take. Man, I wish I was able to listen to my music right now, that would make this climb go by so much faster. Huh, ya know something, when I was in the Shinra HQ, I should have looked for the entrance to Deep Ground. Unleash that mess upon the planet early, see what kind of trouble they would cause... Of course we would need Vincent, he's the one with the Proto Materia or something. As much as I liked Dirge of Cerberus, it was still lacking. Heh heh, Gackt is Genesis, that's just silly.

Wait, if Jenova is able to pull other things from different world, then why didn't she give me a lightsaber! That would have been the coolest weapon ever! As much as I love Punisher, a lightsaber would have been so much better. I would have been all like 'Oh what's that! You want to fight me! Well bring it on punk!' Then I would have pulled that puppy out and man it would have been awesome! Holy crap! I've already made it to the bottom.

I steadied myself on the hook and jumped off. When I hit the ground I put my arms up in the air for victory over the cable. I looked back at everyone else, I could barely make them out. I gave them the thumbs up. Hopefully they could see it. I saw someone starting to climb down. Stepped away from the cable and took Punisher off. I felt so much lighter now.

I decided to check how much ammo I had left for the main gun. I opened up the left side of it and checked. Turns out, I had only used up about a quarter of the ammunition.

"Wow, this puppy can hold quit a bit of ammo." I said as I closed it. I then opened up the right side of Punisher and pulled out the second pistol in it. I then remembered that for the first one I used, I never turned the safety on. I quickly turned it on before I put it into my pocket. I closed the right side.

Man, this thing is kick awesome! Now if only I had a lightsaber...

My thoughts were interrupted before I could finish them,

"Don't look up!" Tifa shouted. I almost looked up out of just a simple reaction to look at the person talking to me. I then realized that Tifa was wearing a skirt and quickly looked at the ground. There was a few moments before I heard her land on the ground.

"You didn't look up did you?" Tifa asked.

"No no no no no!" I said fast. "I didn't look up, I swear!" I said as looked at her. She looked at me for a bit before saying something.

"If I catch you looking up when Aeris is coming down then..." She trailed off as she punched her first into her palm. I flinched and quickly looked back down. We stood there in silence for a while.

"Is he looking up!" Aeris shouted. I jumped, after a long silence and the thought of getting the crap beat out of you, any noise would make anyone jump.

"No! He's not!" Tifa shouted back. I was afraid to look at her, fearing she might take it as me looking up.

When Aeris finally made it to the ground I let out an inward sigh of relief. I looked up at Aeris and Tifa. They were both staring at me before they just started laughing. I looked up, Barret and Nanaki were on there way down now.

"I never expected to get out of Mdgar like that" Aeris said after a little while.

"You come to find that things aren't usually what you expect them to be. For instance, the movie Cowboys and Aliens. I was expecting something awesome like Han Solo and James Bond jumping out at you! Giving each other a high five with huge smiles on there faces! And Right behind them in huge red letters it says 'KA-BLAM! And in the far back you see Chewacca giving you thumbs up with an even bigger grin on his face! But nooooo! Instead I get that crap of a movie!" I finished angrily. Both Tifa and Aeris were giving me weird and confused looks.

"What?" Tifa asked in a very confused tone.

"Who's Chewbacca?" Aeris asked confused.

"Oh, uh... Hey Barret! Red! You made it!" I said quickly changing the subject. Barret was breathing pretty heavily.

"Haa haa, this stupid dog thing... haa haa... feels like he's about a thousand pounds." Barret said as Nanaki dropped to the ground. He only said thanks for the lift and sat down. When I looked back up Cloud was already half way down. He was a fast climber. Everyone was just resting from their climb down.

"Hey Boto." Barret broke the silence.

"Yo." I said.

"How is it that you keep popping back up after we think you're dead? You're like a cockroach or somthin'" Barret said witha grin.

"Cockroach? No, I'm more like a Phoenix! No matter how many times I get burned down I will rise from the ashes again again! Ready to fight!" I said with a grin.

Cheesy? Very. Do I care? By this point, no.

Barret just shook his head. After that everyone was silent.

When Cloud had finally made it down Red was the first to talk.

"I'm going back to my hometown. I'll go with you guys as far as that." Red said while standing up.

Yeah, sure you are mister my grandpas dying so I'm going to go save the planet with you guys.

"... I guess this is the start of our journey..." Tifa said looking off into the distance.

"You hate traveling?" Cloud asked.

"... I don't know. But, I guess I don't have anywhere else to go. So I guess it doesn't really matter whether I travel or not." Tifa said trying to put a smile on her face.

Huh, I guess Cloud is going for Aeris instead of Tifa.

"Don't make it sound so gloomy Tifa. You're not alone in this." I said trying to cheer her up.

"Right." She said looking over at me, putting on a real smile this time.

"You know what? This is the first time I have ever left Midgar..." Aeris said.

"Really?... You worried?" Cloud asked looking over to Aeris.

"A little... No, maybe a whole lot. But I have my bodyguard right?" Aeris said giving him a light smile.

"We told Aeris's mom to go somewhere safe, so Marlene should be safe too." Barret said.

"Yeah, she should be" Cloud said now looking at Barret.

"She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore ...Maybe it's for the best." Aeris said.

"Ha ha ha, what kind of name is Hoody?" I said out loud. I was lost in thought about the code name that the Turks had given me. I still couldn't believe that they were making a big deal about me mugging Reno.

Everyone looked at me giving me another weird look.

"Sorry, I'm tired." I said as I unzipped my hoody and tied it around my waist. Cloud started walking away from Midgar when he turned around to the group.

"Then let's go." Cloud said. Barret then stepped up.

"We need a group leader for our journey. 'Course only me could be the leader." Barret said as he began to punch the air.

"You think so...?" Tifa asked

"It would have to be Cloud." Aeris said as she walked over to Cloud.

"Yup, Cloud." Tifa said.

"I agree, when this is over I'm getting some Taco Bell!" I shouted. Man, I didn't even realize how hungry I was. I was so in the mood for some Taco Bell. Wait, do they even have Taco Bell in Final Fantasy?... Crap! I highly doubt they do.

I looked over at everyone again, they were giving me weird looks.

"Taco... Bell?" Nanaki asked giving me a confused look.

"Never mind. Where are we going?" I asked looking around at everyone.

"We're going' Northeast to a town called Kalm. We should split up into two groups though. Can't have six people strolling down the fields." Barret said as he sat down, pouting a little due to the fact that he wasn't voted group leader.

Cloud sighed. It was obvious from the look on his face that he didn't want to lead.

"Alright, Nanaki Barret, you're with me. Boto and Tifa, you're with Aeris." Cloud said.

Aw crap! Normally guys would jump all over the opportunity to be with nothing but girls. But from personal experience, it's not what you think it would be. I have been to conventions and had to share a room with a bunch of girls before and let me tell you, it wasn't fun.

I would be laying down after a long day of walking when suddenly one of the girls would want to get changed. So I would get thrown out of the room and into the hallway. They would then lock me out for hours! I didn't want to see them getting changed, I just wanted to lay down and rest. Also, about half of them usually had their "Monthly Visit" at about that time. Yeah, it sucked.

"Okay, here's the plan, the three of us will go on ahead while the rest of you stay here for a bit. Then after a little while go ahead and catch up with us." Cloud said while looking at the three of us. All of us nodded our heads.

We waved to the first group as they walked away. I dug Punisher into the and sat down leaning against. I was ready to fall asleep.

"Don't get to comfortable, we going to be leaving soon." Aeris said leaning next to me with a smile.

I let out a sight and stood back up.

"Boto, tell me, how did you survive after the plate fell?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, that was a really big fall. How did you survive?" Aeris joined in. I gave an inward sigh.

Yup, I knew that this was coming sooner or later. Okay, time to improvise. What do we have to work with?

"I don't really know. The only thing I remember from that is tackling the Turk and falling. Then I work up in the rubble." I said. I looked at both of them, they didn't look very satisfied with my answer.

"So you mean that you just work up in the rubble?" Tifa asked confused.

"Yeah, I don't know how I survived the fall." I said.

"Did the Turk that was with you survive as well?" Aeris asked.

"Surprisingly, he did." I said. I wasn't surprised because I knew the reason as to why he survived.

"Then, are you the one that stole from him?" Tifa asked giving me a funny look. I grinned.

"Where else do you think I got these new goggles?" I said while pulling up my goggles more. Both Tifa and Aeris stared at me with wide eyes.

"So you really were the one that stole his stuff?" Tifa asked with a surprised look on her face. I grinned even wider.

"I also stole his weapons and wallet." I said as I pulled out the EMR, Materia, and wallet.

I never bothered to look at the Materia I stole from Reno. It was a little bigger then my fire materia and it was the green like a normal spell materia.

"Where did you get the giant cross gun from?" Aeris asked examining it. Tifa began to look up and down it as well.

"Yeah, I've never seen a weapon like it before. It doesn't have any slots for Materia." Tifa pointed out.

"I found that in the rubble." I said looking at Punisher. I still can't believe that Jenova gave it to me... Though she did say that she treats he children well... I'm not her child!

"Wow, this is heavy." Aeris said as she tried to pick it up.

"That's because it's full of mercy." I said with a grin. Man I've been waiting to use that line ever since I found Punisher.

Both of them gave me a weird look. I just looked at them back.

"So how did you get to the Shinra headquarters?" Aeris asked. I then explained to them how I got there. I didn't tell them I ran into Sephiroth, I just told them that I hid out on the 66th floor until a couple of guards showed up. I then told them how I came crashing through the window. They then proceeded to explain to their situation up to this point. I'm not going to lie, it was hard to focus on the story since I already knew it.

"Okay... I think it's time we started heading to Kalm." I said as I took Punisher back from Aeris, she had been trying to carry it the entire time. I strapped Punisher back on. It felt like it was a thousand pounds heavier now. Most likely because I was tired.

"Yeah, it's time to start catching up with the rest of the group." Aeris said as both her and Tifa began to walk towards Kalm.

I hope they don't ask anymore questions, I'm tired and can't think.

It took a good half of the day to walk to Kalm. It seemed that luck liked me that day because we didn't run into any random battles.

When we finally arrived at Kalm I almost fell over from relief of finally being able to stop. This new life was physically challenging! I don't think I have ever had this much exercise in my entire life.

"Finally! We made it!" I shouted when we walked into Kalm. I looked over at Tifa ans Aeris, they looked tired as well. I leaned up against one of the buildings and rested there for a bit.

"We have to keep moving, I'm pretty sure that Cloud and the others are waiting for us at the inn here." Tifa said as she was walking by.

"Go on ahead, I will catch up in a bit." I said as I leaned back.

"Okay, just don't tale too long." Tifa said as both her and Aeris walked over to the inn. I leaned against the wall for a bit before I decided to start walking. I passed by some of the shops when I noticed a little stand selling candy. I walked over to it.

Dude, they are selling chocolate bars! They look so good! I wonder how much they are? I wonder what they taste like? Oh I could just feel the rich chocolaty taste in my mouth right now. I can hear that snap it makes when you bite into it... Is that a creamy vanilla center I taste? This stuff is awesome! I have to buy a bar.

"Hey!" My thoughts were interrupted. "Are you going to pay for that?" The guy at the stand was yelling at me. I looked down and noticed I was eating a chocolate bar, I was half way through it already.

Huh, that would explain a lot.

"How much are these?" I asked as I began to dig into my pockets for some gil.

"Five gil a bar." He said.

Holy crap! That's cheap... I think. Let me see how much gil I have, I never bothered to count.

I pulled out all the gil I had and it came out to about 500 gil.

Wow, that's a lot more then I thought I had.

"How many bars do you have?" I asked as I began to look for them.

"Including the one you are eating, ten." He said still glaring at me.

"I'll take them all!" I shouted as I slammed fifty gil onto his stand. Yeah, I know, I should save my gil but hey, I have a weakness for chocolate.

The man grinned as he handed me the rest of the bars. I was able to fit them into my remaining pockets. This is why I love cargo pants. I quickly ate the rest of my chocolate bar and headed to the inn.

When I made it into the inn I walked up to the front desk.

"Are there five other people in the room above?" I asked the person at the front desk.

"Yes there are, why do you ask?" The person said.

"I'm with them." I said before I bolted up the steps.

When I made it to the second floor I saw that everyone was already waiting for me.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, just needed to take a quick break, Punisher is friggin heavy." I said out of breath.

"Yo man you're late!" Barret shouted.

"I just said that Barret! But nooooo! No one listens to good ol' Boto anymore! Everyone's just like, 'Hey, look at that fat guy running around! I'm not going to listen to him! He's fat!'" I said in a complaining tone. I was joking though. It's just funny watching people freak out over a person that isn't fat talking about being fat. They get so mad when I do that.

Everyone look at me with confused faces.

"I'm tired." Was the only thing I could think of saying.

"Just find a spot and sit down!" Barret shouted. I walked over to the last two bed and went in between them. I unstrapped Punisher and placed it on the ground. I then walked over to the back wall and sat down leaning against it.

"So let's hear your story... You know, the one about the planet and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all." Barret said. Cloud looked at his feet then back up. He looked at me next.

"Wait, is Boto filled in on the details of what happened with Shinra?" Cloud asked.

"Yup, Tifa and I filled him in on the details while we were on our way. He can tell you his story later." Aeris said happily. Cloud nodded his head.

"I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER." Cloud began telling his story what what happened. I began nodding off.

I was trying hard to stay awake but I was just so tired. My mind would be focusing on Cloud's story one moment then going blank the next. It went from him amn Sephiroth fighting the dragon to Cloud going to visit his mom. When I heard that my head shot up. I had to give Cloud crap for this, I don't care if it was the right moment or not, I wasn't going to let it slip by.

"Wait! Cloud!" I said, interrupting his story. He looked over at me raising an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked.

"After you visited your mom, did you go to visit Tifa?" I asked, a grin starting to form on my face. Everyone turned and looked at me.

"I though you were asleep." Barret said giving me a weird look.

"That's what you get for thinking. Now, did you Cloud?" I asked again. Cloud looked at me weird before answering.

"Yeah... I though she might have been home." He said. My grin grew wider.

"Did you go into her room?" I asked. Both Cloud and TIfa were giving me the weirdest looks in the room. I was doing everything I could to not bust up laughing.

"Yeah..." Cloud said. This next question was going to be the hardest to not bust up laughing to.

"Did you raid her dresser for her underwear?" I said, already laughing a little.

Both his and Tifa's eyes widened when I said that.

"What! What kind of question is that Boto!" Tifa shouted. "This is important! Besides, Cloud would never do such a thing, right Cloud?" Tifa look over to Cloud. Cloud's face was turning bright red and he put his head down.

"Right Cloud?" Tifa asked a little louder.

"Uhhhh..." Cloud trailed off.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted. I busted up laughing. Oh this was too good.

"Ha ha! Who does that! Who takes a woman's underwear! I mean, what are you going to do with them, wear them!" I busted up laughing again. Even Barret and Aeris started to laugh a little. Nanaki just shook his head.

"What are you going to do next!" I continued. "Dress up like a woman! You know, wear a dress, put on a wig and what not!" I laughed even harder. Cloud's head shout up when I said that. He looked over at Aeris then at Tifa with accusing eyes that said 'You told him!' Aeris put her hands shaking her head while Tifa just sighed and put her head down.

"Oh man, Cloud, you just made my day!" I laughed. "Ya know, I would have expected something like this from Zack! But you, it's just insane!" I busted up laughing even harder.

Both Aeris and Tifa looked at me now with wide eyes.

"Zack?" Aeris asked in a hopeful tone giving me a worried look at the same time. I stopped lauhging.

Oh crap, did I just say Zack! Crap, what do I say now! I'm not supposed to know who Zack is! Think, come on think!

"Oh, uh, he was a friend of mine when I was little. He had... Dirty blond hair. Wore pants with one pant leg shorter than the other. He was a huge cry baby, tried to get me to play this game he made up called Blitz Ball, said he was the star player or something. We could never play it though since you could only play it under water. You had to hold your breath for a really long time but we never could. That's enough about me though, continue your story Cloud." I said quickly, hopefully no one would ask me questions.

"Wait, I thought you said you don't remember your childhood?" Barret asked.

"I said I don't remember much." I said, holding a finger in the air. Barret just shrugged. I looked back at Aeris and Tifa, their looks that they were giving kinda' went back to normal. They were still giving me weird looks though.

After a bit of silence, everyone focused on Cloud and he continued with his story.

Now that I was wide awake from that little scare I had I was able to focus so much more now. Cloud talked about how he went to the Nibelheim Mountains, how he saw the monsters in the reactor, how Sephiroth went insane and burnt everything down. How they found Jenova and how Tifa was injured. How he went after Sephiroth.

"And that's the end of my story." Cloud said.

"Wait a damn minuet! Ain't there more?" Barret said eagerly.

"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aeris asked. Cloud though for a bit before answering.

"... I don't remember. In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him." Cloud said while looking at the ground, trying to think still.

"The records state Sephiroth is dead. I read it in a newspaper." Tifa said looking over to Cloud.

"Shinra, Inc. owns the newspaper so you can't rely on that information." Aeris said, a bit bitterly.

"I want to know the truth. I want to know what happened then. I challenged Sephiroth and lived. Why didn't he kill me?" Cloud said while forming his hand into a fist.

"I'm alive too." Tifa said softly.

I'm alive as well! Though, I didn't challenge Sephiroth. Instead, I ran away like a sissy little girl... Once again, so glad no one can read my thoughts. And as for what happened to Cloud, I already know so ha! Take that suspence!

"Seems like a lot of this doesn't make sense. What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building, right?" Aeris asked looking around at everyone.

"Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." Cloud said.

"Did someone else carry it out after that?" It was missing from the Shinra building." Aeris said, now focusing on Cloud.

"Sephiroth..." Tifa said with worry in her voice.

I closed my eyes, I could still see Jenova in my mind, her words still ringing in my ears. I shivered a bit, I was starting to feel a bit cold.

"Damn! Don't none of this make sense!" Barret shouted, everyone was looking at him now.

"I'm going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!" Barret pointed at everyone before taking off. He then stopped at the stairs.

"Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!" Barret shouted.

"Wait a sec, we are staying here for the night. Tomorrow morning we are going to get supplies and gather everything together. Then we will head out." Cloud said looking at Barret, then the whole group.

"Fine! That's good enough." Barret said before taking off.

"Oh brother..." Cloud said as he did a face palm. Everyone started to leave the room. Tifa walked over to Cloud.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked. "How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?" She asked while looking at the ground.

" I thought you were a goner... I was really sad." Cloud said silently, looking directly at her. Tifa went silent and started to blush.

"I..." Aeris started. "The Ancients... Cetra... Jenova... Sephiroth and myself..." Aeris trailed off looking at the ground, sounding sad now.

"Let's go. Barret's waiting." Tifa siad, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone left the room except for Red and myself.

"What a fascinating story... Boto? Are you alright?" Nanaki was looking at me. I was still shivering.

"Huh, wha...?" I said, being broken from my thoughts.

"I asked if you were all right." He said, giving me a concerned look

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little cold. Now that you mention it I could go for some food... And my clothes need to be fixed or something because they're really torn up." I said while standing up. Nanaki tilted his head at me before speaking.

"If you say so." He then got up and walked out of the room. I followed him. When I left the inn I went to go get my clothes fixed, I even got a couple of extra pockets sewn on. I also bought a satchel to carry some more stuff in. It was black like my hoody. I put all my chocolate bars in it. I then went to grab some food before returning. After all of that was taken care of I had 355gil left. I went back to the inn, took a shower, and found a place on the floor to lay down. There was only three beds so I figured I would let whoever wants them to have them. I was the only one in the room, everyone else must be out eating or something. I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly.

I was sitting in the dark, curled up on the floor. I felt so cold, so alone. I was rocking back and forth, shaking. Every where I looked there was darkness. Suddenly I heard a voice.

"What's wrong my child?" Jenova said soothingly.

"Mother, I'm so cold, so alone. I don't know what to do." I said weakly.

"It's okay my child. Mother is hear." She said. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. They were warm. Her arms felt like a blanket being wrapped around me. I stopped feeling cold and alone, I felt so warm on the outside and inside now. I began to cry.

"What's the matter my child?" I felt Jenova whisper soothingly into my ear.

"I'm so happy you are here mother." I said as tears continued to pour out of my eyes. "I never want to be away from you." I said so happily.

"And I the same my child. But I cannot be with you while you are here with these people." Jenova said in a worried tone now.

"But, I can't leave them mother. They are my friends." I said.

"Than I'm sorry my child, I can't be with you. I warn you now, the longer you stay with them, the longer you disobey your me. The longer you disobey me, the harsher the punishment." Jenova said before leaving.

When she left I felt like I was thrown out into freezing rain. I felt so lost now.

"MOTHER!" I shouted out.

My eyes shot open and I shot straight up from where I was sitting. I was breathing heavily and shaking all over. I felt so cold. I touched my face and noticed that I was crying. I scooted over to a corner and curled up into it. It was the middle of the night now.

What the... What's going on! Why do I feel like this! Dammit Jenova! What the Hell did you do to me!

I though to my self as I longed for that warmth. I wanted so badly to be with her again. To have her arms wrapped around me and tell me everything would be all right. I started to shake even more.

Wait, what's stopping me from going to her? I can go to her now!

"I need to go to her. I need to go to her now." I said.

I stood up and started walking towards the stairs. Only for my body to give out on me a few seconds later. My body was still in shock from what just happened and standing up quickly didn't help it at all. I hit the floor with a loud thud. After that, I was out like a light.

* * *

><p>Nanaki woke up to a weird sounds. He lifted his head up and saw Boto scooting over to the corner curling up into a ball crying and shaking violently. Nanaki stood up, trying to not wake everyone up. He walked over to Boto.<p>

"Boto?" He said his name with worry in his voice. Boto didn't respond.

"Boto, what's wrong?" He asked. Still nothing. Just when Nanaki was about to wake someone up for some help, Boto suddenly stood up. Nanaki looked back at him and jumped back a bit. He didn't expect him to stand up so quickly.

Boto started walking to the stairs.

"I need to go to her. I need to go to her now." Boto said, almost like he was in some sort of trance.

"Go to who?" Nanaki said giving him a confused look. Nanaki was about to follow him when suddenly, Boto fell over. He hit the ground hard enough to wake everyone else up in the room.

'What!" Cloud shot up. He looked around the room and saw Boto and Nanaki in the middle of the room.

"What happened?" Aeris was the next one up.

"Boto needs help." Nanaki said calmly.

"What?" TIfa was the next one up, she got up and quickly walked over to where Boto and Nanaki were. She bent down next to Boto and felt his forehead to see if he was sick.

"He feels so... Cold?" Tifa said with confusion. She tried to wake him up, he didn't move. She checked for a puls, he still had one. Aeris got up and sat next to her, she felt Boto's forhead as well.

"He is!" She said surprised. Barret woke up next.

"Huh, what?" Barret said before falling back to sleep.

Cloud got up and walked next to them.

"Red, what happened?" Cloud asked looking concerned.

"I woke up, saw him shaking violently in the corner crying. I walked over to him and tired to talk to him. He didn't respond. Suddenly he got up and started walking. He then said that he needed to go to some one now. Next thing I knew, he was on the ground." Nanaki finished, still looking at Boto.

"Did he say who it was?" Cloud asked. Nanki shook his head.

"Aeris, will using a restore Materia help him?" Tifa asked.

" I don't know, we can try." Aeris said while grabbing the materia and using it on Boto. Nothing happened.

"I didn't work, here, put him on one of the beds." Tifa said as she stood up. Cloud picked Boto up and placed him on the bed. Everyone got a good look at him now. He was incredibly pale, like he was dead or somthing.

"What's wrong with him?" Aeris asked, worry in her voice.

"I don't know, but he needs to be warmed up and fast." Nanaki said. They quickly covered him him. The color in his face slowly started to return.

"It looks like this is all we can do for now. Until then, everyone get some rest, I'll watch him in case anything happens." Cloud said as he pulled up a chair next to Boto.

"Cloud, are you sure, you're just as tired." Tifa said.

"I'm sure, now get some rest." Cloud said as he leaned forward in his chair. The three of them gave Cloud and Boto a worried look before going back to laying down. Cloud stared at Boto for a while.

"What was that all about?" He said quietly to himself.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes slowly. I sat up and looked around the room. Barret and Nanaki were sleeping on the ground while Tifa and Aeris were sleeping on the beds. I looked to the left of me and saw Cloud sitting in a chair. He was leaning back in it with his head hanging down, he was asleep.<p>

Okay... Why is Cloud watching me sleep... Creepy. Wait, why am I in one of the beds? I could have sworn I fell asleep on the ground. I think I'll just slip outside for a quick walk around town. I don't like being in a room full of sleeping people.

I silently got out of the bed and walked downstairs. I walked out side and let the cool morning air hit my face.

"Ah, that's more like it... Man I could go for some coffee. I wonder if they have any shops that are open. I started walking around aimlessly. I noticed that more people started waking up and walking around. They started shopping and talking to one another.

I finally found a shop that sold some coffee. I bought a cup, it only cost me five gil! That's a score compared to Tifa's prices! I put in a bunch of creamer and sugar and started walking back to the inn. Hopefully everyone is awake by now.

While I was on my way back to the inn I saw Tifa running through the crowds looking really worried about something.

Hm, I wonder what she is worried about. I better call out to her and ask.

"Hey! Tifa!" I shouted while waving my hand at her. She stopped where she was and looked around. When she saw me her eyes widened and she started running to me.

Okay, she didn't look to happy when she saw me. Maybe I shouldn't have called her name out like that.

Before I knew what to do she was right in front of me. She the proceeded to smack me as hard as she could in the face.

"What the Hell are you doing! Everyone is worried sick about you! After the stuff that happened last night! Why did you wonder off on your own like that!" Tifa was shouting. She was beyond mad.

Why is it that I always seem to get her mad! I don't even know what I did and crap! My face hurts.

"Guahhhh!" I shouted while rubbing my face. "I'm sorry! I though I would just grab some coffee while everyone was sleeping! I didn't know something happened last night! I was dead asleep!" Tifa gave me a really worried and confused look.

"You mean you don't remember what happened?" She asked on a really worried tone.

"No, am I supposed to?" I said with a confused look. Tifa just sighed and it looked liked she relaxed a little. She then lunged forward and gave me a hug. I stood there frozen in my place.

I have no idea what's going but I like this part of it.

"Come on, let's go back to the inn. I will let everyone know I found you." She said softly as she grabbed my hand and lead the way.

Why is Tifa holding my hand? Why did she hug me? Why was everyone so worried about me? Why is Tifa holding my hand?... Why is Tifa holding my hand?

My face was turning incredibly red. She led my all the back to the inn and back up the step to the room. Barret and Nanaki were in there sitting down talking when we entered.

"Foo! The Hell's wrong with you!" Barret shouted as both he and Nanaki walked up to me.

"Barret you were dead asleep until just a minuet ago." Nanaki said.

"So! Doesn't mean I'm not mad!" Barret shouted.

"Wha...?" Was the only thing I could say.

"What happened to you last night?" Nanaki asked looking at me.

What did happen 'What happened to me last night?' Why does Barret look like he's about to hit me? Why is Tifa still holding my hand?

Cloud and Aeris were the next people to walk into the room.

"Boto! What the Hell is wrong with you?" Cloud said with an angry tone.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that!" I shouted out.

"You're alright!" Aeris shouted out. She ran up to me and gave me a hug.

As I have said before, I don't know what's going on but I like this part of it.

Tifa let go of my hand and walked over to one of the beds and sat down. Aeris let go of me and gave me a worried look.

"What happened! We were so worried about! When I woke up this morning you were gone! I though something bad had happened considering what happened last night!" Aeris said, starting to panic a little.

Great! Now I feel bad for making Aeris panic and worry about me for something I don't even remember.

"What happened last night?" I looked around the room giving everyone a confused look.

"You mean you don't remember?" Cloud asked giving me a confused look.

"No, if I did then I wouldn't be standing in pain looking like a lost puppy." I said to Cloud still rubbing my face.

I'm almost positive Tifa left a hand print on my face.

"Okay, Boto, sit down and we'll explain." I sat down on the ground. Nanaki told me what he saw last night and told me what happened. When they had told me what I said it all came rushing back to me. The dream I had, how I felt, my reaction to it.

No wonder why they were so panicked when I was gone this morning. I don't want to worry them any more then I should so I'm just going to play dumb for now.

"I'm sorry guys but I don't remember any of that." I said putting my head down so they can't see my face to indicate if I was lying or not. Cloud just sighed.

"Okay, from now on, we let each other know when someone is going somewhere okay?" Cloud said looking around the room, mostly at me though. I felt like a little kid again, getting in trouble for sneaking out or something. Everyone nodded their heads.

"Alright, let's buy some equipment and hit the rode. Everyone meet me in the lobby." Cloud said before grabbing his stuff and leaving. Everyone else grabbed their things as well and left the room. I grabbed my stuff and walked down the steps.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Woo! Chapter eight is down! Thanks for reading everyone! Remember to please review! All of the reviews so far are very helpful and encouraging! Merry Christmas to all of you! And to those who don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy them! See you in the next chapter when the group heads to the Chocobo farm! And just to add words so I can make this at least seven thousand, I'm going to ramble about things now! Yup, it sure was cold today! Good thing I have a jacket! Okay, that's enough words._


	9. Chapter 9: Chocobos

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Even if I did I would be roaming the earth searching for the path of life... Who am I kidding, I'm to lazy to do that!**_

_A/N: Woo! I threw out my back or something the other day while I was shoveling snow! Did I mention that I hate the snow? Well, you know now! Here's chapter nine! Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention, when you see this * It means that I'm talking. When you see this + It means that another person is talking. Don't worry, it will all make sense later in the chapter. Just stick with me until then!_

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine: Chocobos<p>

When I walked into the lobby everyone was standing around waiting for Cloud to speak.

"All right, right now we are going to see how much gil we have, then buy equipment. We will meet back here in thirty minuets." Cloud said while looking at everyone. Everyone nodded their heads and started to pull out their gill.

It turns out we were quit poor. Rounding up, he have 2,000 gil. We split the gil fifty-fifty So the plan was to stock up on basic needs. Water, food, potions and ethers. If possible, tents, since we were going to be doing a lot of camping. We traveled in two groups around the town to get the shopping done faster. Aeris, being the smart and by thinking ahead, bought two PHS's last night.

In the first group, you had Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa. The second was me, Barret, and Red XIII. After about thirty minuets of wondering around looking for things to buy we regrouped at the inn.

"Alright, lets throw our stuff together to see what we have." Cloud said. Cloud's group managed to buy a tent, food, water, and travel packs. Our group was able to buy some potions and ethers. Barret tried to get some more Materia but failed miserably. It ended with me and Red having to drag Barret out of the Materia store. He said that the materia was 'Too damned expensive'. Needless to say, we didn't get any materia. Instead we bought another tent, which sadly, almost drained us of all our gil.

We only had a couple of fire materia, a poison, three ice's, two lightnings, and a restore Materia. We also had the materia I stole from Reno. We divided that up evenly. I stuck with the stuff I had, Cloud had the other fire, Tifa, Aeris, and Barret had the ice, Red got the poison materia and Aeris got the restore materia.

"Okay, so where are we headed to next?" I asked looking around at everyone.

"While we were walking around I over head a man saying that he saw a guy in a black cape heading east." Aeris said.

"Alright then, lets head east!" I shouted while pointing east.

"That's west." Cloud said while everyone shook their heads.

"I knew that... I was just... Testing you guys... All of you failed." I said as I put my hand down. Every just faced palmed.

Man, I really need to learn my directions.

After we gathered our stuff we left the inn and into the grassy fields going east.

"Yo! Boto!" Barret shouted to me.

"W'sup?" I asked back.

"You never did tell us what happened after you fell from the plate." Barret said.

Oh yeah, I only told Aeris and Tifa about that. Wait, why didn't he ask me while we were walking around Kalm? Oh well.

"Well, after I fell from the plate..." I told them what happened, how I stole from Reno, how I found Punisher and how I got into the Shinra headquarters. Of course, I left out the part where I ran into Sephiroth. Like I told Tifa and Aeris, I told them I just hid on the 66th floor. Then I told them how I came crashing through the window.

"So you're tellin' me that you found that big ass gun jus' layin' around?" Barret asked me with a shocked face.

"Yup." I said as I nodded my head.

"You also stole from a Turk?" Cloud asked.

"Yup. How else do you think I got my shiny new toys." I said showing them the stuff I stole from Reno.

Man, it felt like this stuff was a badge of honor or something. Now I know why Phoenix always shows off his attorneys badge.

"Foo' you're crazy! Anyone ever tall you that?" Barret asked.

"Every now and then." I answered back.

"Wait!" Red said as he suddenly stopped. He put his head up and started sniffing the air.

"What is-" Tifa started to ask but was cut off by red as he shushed her. Red sniffed the air some more. Red looked at the group with a serious expression on his face.

"Somethings headed this way." Red said. He looked at a hill. There was a light rumbling coming from it's direction.

"What is it?" Cloud asked as he pulled out his buster sword.

"I don't know but what ever it is, it's headed this way." Red said as he was getting into a fighting stance. I pulled out Punisher getting ready for what ever was coming over the hill. Everyone else was getting ready to fight.

The rumbling got louder.

Crap, what is it? Is it a sweeper or something?

My question was soon answered when a giant flock of birds came charging at is from over the hill. The birds looked like a creepy mixture of turkeys and ostriches. They were headed straight for us.

"Get ready!' Cloud shouted.

Barret was the first one to attack. He opened fire on the crowd. I followed his example and opened fire as well. Aeris, Tifa and Cloud started casting their magic at the advancing group while Red was ready to attack at any given moment. We tried to take as many out as we could before they reached us. We were able to take a handful out but it still wasn't enough. They still had a decent force.

The first one that got close to us was taken out by Red. He jumped at it and bit its neck. It feel to the ground fast. The next one was taken down by Cloud. He charged at it with his buster swords and in one stroke, it was down. Tifa charged at the third one and with a few punches, it was down as well. Aeris stayed in the back with me and Barret. She was casting ice while we were shooting the flock.

The flock split into two groups and started attack us from both sides. Cloud, Red, and Tifa focused on one side while the rest of is focused on the other side.

"I'm almost out of ammo!" Barret shouted as he took down a bird trying to attack him.

"Then start hitting them with your gun arm!" I shouted at him. I was standing next to Aeris giving her cover while she casting ice at them. Barret was out in the middle fighting them.

Both Aeris and I were taking quit a bit of damage. Barret was the one taking most of the damage. After a while he used big shot and took and a few of the birds in one shot.

"It seems like there's no end to these birds!" Aeris shouted as she drank an ether. I kept shooting at any bird that got close to us. I was using short controlled bursts.

"I think I see the end of them!" I shouted back. I was right, there was an end to them.

Barret finally did run out of ammo and started tackling them hitting them with his gun arm. One of the birds charged us from the side and knocked both Aeris and I down. I tried to recover but another one rammed into me. Aeris managed to get back up. She tried to help me but she kept having to defend her self.

A third one was charging at me. I didn't have enough time to get back up so I closed my eyes waiting for the impact. Instead I heard Barret yell. I opened my eyes to see that Barret had tackled the bird to the ground.

"What'ca ya doing closin' your eyes for!" Barret shouted at me as he got back up. He ran over to me and pulled me up.

"Never close your eyes in a fight!" Barret shouted.

"Right, sorry." I said as I quickly grabbed Punisher.

"Don't be sorry! Jus' don't close your eyes!" Barret shouted. He turned around and charged at another bird.

I felt really stupid for closing my eyes like that.

There was only a few left. I opened fire on the ones that I saw. There was only one left. It charged at me. I quickly dropped Punisher on the ground and focused on my fire materia. I made a sweeping motion with my hand and fire hit the bird. It fell to the ground.

I looked around the area really quickly.

"Is everyone alright!" I shouted out.

"So far just some cuts and bruises! Nothing major!" Cloud shouted back. With that I sat down and tilted my head back.

Crap man, I never would have thought that they attack in flocks like that. In the game they usually come at you in groups of two or three.

As I was sitting down I felt a strong wind blow over me. It felt good, the cuts that I had were being healed. I looked around and saw that Aeris was using her limit break, healing wind.

Huh, strange. I thought that you could only use limit breaks during a battle. Well, goes to show how much I know.

I opened up the left side of Punisher to see how much ammo I had left. I only had about a quarter left.

"Woo! Now that's what I call an ass kickin'" Barret shouted. I stood back up and picked up Punisher.

"Check them for gil!" I shouted as I ran to the nearest bird.

Oh man, this thing only has a few bullet holes in it. I'm not cutting open it's stomach just to get some gill.

I skipped that bird and went to another one.

After searching through all of the birds we managed to pull out some hi-potions, more ethers, and over 3,000 gil. It was a big flock.

"Okay, after that battle, I say we just head straight to our next destination." I said.

"Agreed." Red said panting. Everyone else seemed to be agreeing as well.

"What was that anyways? I didn't know they attacked in flocks like that." Tifa said as she looked at all the birds.

"I'm guessing it has to do with all the rapid increase of monsters lately." Red said.

"I Guess so." I said, trying to pull some stray feathers of of me. I just wanted to get to the chocobo farm.

"Okay, let's start moving. I think I see some buildings off in the distance. Let's head there to see if we can get anymore supplies." Cloud said, pointing to what I hoped to be the chocobo farm.

After walking for about half an hour we reached the chocobo farm.

"Okay, everyone stay here. I'm going to go inside and talk to the owners of this farm." Cloud said as he walked over to the farm. I decided to see if I can score the Choco/Mog summon materia. I ran up to the fences.

"Okay, lets see, how do they make that noise again..." I said to my self.

"Boto, what are you doing?" Red asked. I turned around.

"I'm trying to get something, give me a sec." I said before trying to think of how to sound like a chocobo.

"Waaark." I said. Nothing happened. "Waaark" I tried again. Still nothing.

"You sounds so weird." Tifa said while laughing. I looked back and everyone was laughing.

I guess it is pretty weird trying to get materia this way. But hey, I'm not missing out on a summon materia. If only I could sound like a chocobo... I got!

"Aeris! Get over here!" I shouted. Aeris gave me a weird look. I waved her over here. She slowly walked over to me.

"Hee hee, sorry for laughing." She said nervously while rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't worry about it. Just try to make the best chocobo sound that you can." I said reassuringly to her. She gave me another weird look.

"Why?" She asked.

"Trust me, it will be worth it." I said with a grin. She looked at me for a few seconds before clearing her throat.

"Wark." She sounded just like a chocobo.

Suddenly the chocobos started doing their dance.

"What are they doing?" Red asked as the group walked up to us.

"Shhhhh. Just watch and learn." I said to him.

The chocobos finished their dance. Suddenly a materia shot up.

"I got it!" I shouted a I tired to catch it. It ended up hitting me in the head.

"Ow!" I shouted.

Note to self, work on catching skills.

"Wow! That's a summon materia!" Aeris stated excitedly as she ran up to me.

"Ha ha, yup. And since you were the one to get the chocobos to dance, you can keep it." I told Aeris. She smiled as she picked up the materia.

"Thank you." Aeris said sweetly.

Duahhh! That smile could make any guy melt. No wonder why Zack dated her... Yup, I'm fan-boying again.

Cloud returned shortly after

"Okay, we have two options here. We can either try to cross the marshes on foot or we can catch some chocobos and use them to cross Let's discuss this for a bit." Cloud said.

"Let's get a chocobo!" I shouted out quickly.

"Hold on, we still have to discuss this." Cloud said.

"Chocobos!" I shouted.

"Acting childish won't help." Cloud said getting a little annoyed

"Come on Cloud! What's there to think about?" I said eagerly. I really wanted to ride a chocobo.

"Well there's the fact that we are in a hurry, we can't spend the entire day chasing chocobos." Cloud said still annoyed.

"Come on Cloud! You know you want to ride a chocobo!" I said as I wrapped my arm around his neck.

"Sing the chocobo song with me!" I shouted.

"The chocobo song?" Cloud asked with confusion in his voice.

Yeah, I'm going to look like the worlds biggest fool for doing this but I don't care. It's not every day you get to look like a fool in front of video game characters.

I started to sing.

*~_I want to be the very best,_

_ Like no one ever was! _

_ To catch them is my real test,_

_ To train them is my cause!~_

I pulled my arm away from cloud and spun around. Then pointed off into the distance.

*_~I will travel across the land._

_ Searching far and wide!_

_ Each chocobo to understand,_

_ The power that's in side!~_

With that last verse I made my right hand first and slowly brought it down. Everyone was now staring at with me with worried looks. Except for Aeris, she was just giggling and enjoying the song.

_*~Chocobos! _

_ Gotta catch 'em all!_

_ It's you and me._

_ I know it's my destiny.~_

Cloud was face palming, Barret looked horrified, Red was shaking his head, Tifa was also face palming and Aeris was still gigiling.

_ *~Chocobos!_

_ Oh, your'e my best friend,_

_ In a world we must defend.~_

_ *~Chocobos!_

_ Gotta catch 'em all._

_ A heart so true,_

_ Our courage will pull us through._

_ You teach me,_

_ And I'll teach you.~_

_ *~Chocobos!_

_ Gotta catch 'em all._

_ Gotta catch 'em all!~_

_ Yeah-eh-eh~_

Oh no, I wasn't going to stop there. I was going for the full song. Except maybe for the guitar solo part where he just says gotta catch 'em all' over and over again.

_*~Ever challenge along the way,_

_ With courage I will face._

_ I will battle everyday, _

_ To claim my rightful place.~_

I was really getting into this no. I kept making hand motions to the words.

_*~Come with me,_

_ The time is right._

_ There's no better team,_

_ Arm in arm We'll win win the fight~_

I grabbed Aeris by the arm since she seemed to be enjoying the song the most.

_ *~It's alwasy been our dream!~_

_ *+~Chocobos!~_

Aeris was now singing along with me.

_ +~Gotta catch 'em all!_

_ *It's you an me,_

_ *+I know it's my destiny!~_

Everyone was shocked that she was now singing along. I was glad that she was able to pick up on the words so quickly.

_*+~Chocobos!_

_ *Oh, you're my best friend,_

_ *+In a world we must defend!~_

_ *+~Chocobos!_

_ +Gotta catch 'em all,_

_ *A heart so true!_

_ *+Our courage will pull us through,_

_ *+You teach me, _

_ *+And I'll teach you!~_

_ *+~Chocobos!_

_ +Gotta catch 'em all!_

_ *Gotta catch 'em all!_

_ *+Chocobos!~_

Both of us finished singing. We look around and saw every ones faces. They were priceless. All of they jaws were hanging open. Both of us started laughing.

"Chocobos it is then?" I was finally able to say after laughing. Cloud just shook his head.

"Can you give me a good reason as to why we should get chocobos?" Cloud asked.

" I know for a fact that you don't want to risk running into the Midgar Zolom! We may be saving more time by booking it across the marshes but chances of us slipping by a zolom are slim to none. Our best bet is to get some chocobos. We may be saving time but facing a zolom will slow us down big time if it doesn't kill us. And that's a big if." I said.

"Please Cloud! I've never been on a chocobo before." Aeris said giving Cloud puppy eyes.

I'm going to assume that she has learned that from Zack... Go Aeris! Use those puppy dog eyes!

Cloud sighed.

"I'll talk to the farmer about the chocobo lure." Cloud said as he began to walk away. I did a fist pump.

"You really want to ride a chocobo, don't you?" Red asked.

"That and I really don't want to run into a zolom." I said looking back at him.

A few minuets later Cloud came back to the group with a chocobo lure and a couple of bags of greens. By the looks of it, it was the cheap stuff.

"Okay, to catch a chocobo we just have to use the chocobo lure to bring one in. Then we distract it with this chocobo feed and sneak up on it and grab it. It's as simple as that." Cloud said while chucking a bag at me and the chocobo lure.

"Since you seem the most devoted to catching a chocobo, you can catch the first one." Cloud said.

"Yes!" I did another fist pump.

We walked out into the open following some chocbo tracks. After a bit of walking we came upon some chocobo. I pulled out the chocobo lure and focused on it. One of the chocobo looked up and strayed from the flock.

"Alright, stand back everyone. Watch a pro at work." I said as I crept forward.

"What ever." I heard Barret say as I walked away.

The chocobo was busy pecking at something on ground. I grabbed a handful of greens. It put its head up at the noise and looked at me. I tossed the greens at the chocobo.

Sadly, the greens hit said chocobo. That seemed to anger the chocobo. It let out a loud cry and charged at me.

"Oh crap!" I shouted as I dove out of the way. After the first charge it seemed to ignore me.

"Wait, I have an idea!" I said out loud to my self.

I reached for my satchel and pulled out a chocolate bar. I opened it up and broke part of it off. I ate that part and broke another part off. I tossed it to the chocobo, making sure to not hit it.

At first the chocobo just sniffed the chocolate. Then it walked up to it and started eating it. As it was eating it I crept up behind it.

Okay, let's see how well this works.

"I started to pet the chocobo. At first it did nothing then it's head shot up and it looked at me. I stopped petting it and held up the rest of my chocolate bar. As soon as it saw the chocolate it turned around started pecking at the chocolate.

I let the chocobo take the rest form my hand. I went onto the chocobos back. When the chocobo was done eating it let out a joyful noise. I didn't seem to care that I was on it's back.

I grabbed the chocobo by it's sides. Since I didn't have anything to help me steer it this was the best I could do. I lightly tapped the chocobo with my heels and it sped off. I pulled the chocobo to the left a little and it turned to the left.

"I think I got this!" I shouted out.

It took about an hour for everyone to catch a chocobo. Barret had the most problems catching one. It attacked him multiple times.

It turns out that Red didn't need one since he could actually keep up with the chocobos.

"Okay, we're just going to make a mad dash across the marshes. Everyone ready?" Cloud asked looking at the group. Everyone nodded their heads. I was in the back of the group.

"Alright then, let's go." Everyone followed him. It took us about ten minuets to get to the marshes.

"Alright everyone! Just keep moving forward! Don't stop for anything and we will make it out of the marshes just fine!" I shouted out as soon as we entered.

We were about half way through the marshes when it happened. My chocobo tripped on something and fell over.

"Uahhh!" I yelled as I hit the muddy ground.

"Oh no, this can't be happening. I'm screwed!" I said out loud as I got up.

Sadly, since I was in the back, no one noticed when I fell over so all of them went charging on ahead.

I looked back at my chocobo, it couldn't get up on it's own.

"Okay, if I move fast I can still make it!" I shouted as I ran over to the chocobo. It was struggling a lot. I tried to get it back on it's feet but it ended up clawing me multiple times. I backed away for a bit to try and rethink my plan.

Suddenly I felt a rumbling in the ground. My eyes grew very wide. The chocobo stopped moving. Next thing I knew, there was a loud roar. It was blood currdling. I ran back over to the chocobo and was able to pull it back up.

Sadly, the chocobo was to scared and ran off in the other direction, leaving me by my self. I only had one option left. Run. I took off as fast as I could to were Cloud and the rest were headed.

I have heard of people making past the zolom by doing a dash through the marshes with out a chocobo before. Knowing my luck, I would run into it.

I was only a minuet into running when I heard the roar again.

No, this can't be happening!

I began to run faster.

Suddenly, the zolom popped out of the ground a few yards ahead of me. I stood in awe at how large it was. It was looking directly at me.

I didn't stand a chance at fighting this thing. The zolom let put a blood chilling roar as it dove at me.

My heart was pounding, my legs wouldn't move. I was about to close my eyes when Barrets words rang in my head. 'Never close your eyes in a fight!'. I looked up at the zolom and dove out of the way.

The zolom hit the ground and began to travel through it.

"It missed..." I managed to say. My body was slow to react. At first I couldn't move, then I broke into a full sprint. I could feel the earth shaking below me as I ran. It was after me.

The zolom popped up to the left of me and tried to dive at me again. I dove forward and rolled out of the way. I got back out and continued to sprint. Off in the distance I saw someone ridding a chocobo. It looked like Cloud.

"Boto!" I heard him shout when he came within hearing distance.

"Run!" I shouted at Cloud. Just then, I felt the earth shake violently as the zolom popped up behind me. Clouds eyes widened at the sight. He charged forward straight at me while I sprinted at him.

The zolom was making another dive at me. Cloud was about to pass me up when he reached out his hand and pulled me up on his chocobo. He swerved to the left, just before the zolom hit us.

He turned his chocobo around as fast as he could and we took off.

"What the Hell happened to you back there!" Cloud shouted.

"Explain later! More running!" I shouted back at Cloud. I looked behind us and saw that the zolom was hot on our tail. I pulled out the pistol I had in my pocket and opened fire. It did nothing to slow down the zolom.

"Run! Get inside the cave!" I heard Cloud shout out. I looked ahead of us and saw everyone else was standing there waiting. As soon as they saw the zolom the got off their chocobos and ran inside the cave. The chocobos ran off into different directions once they were riderless.

The zolom made another dive at us but ended up missing.

"Once we get close to the cave jump off!" Cloud shouted. I saw that the entrance was to small to fit a chocobo inside of it.

"On my mark! Three! Two! One! Jump!" Cloud shouted as both of us jumped off the chocobo. He went left, I went right. The chocobo went forward. Once it realized that we weren't on it anymore it ran away from us as fast a possible.

Cloud and I rolled on the ground and got up as fast as we could. We booked it to the cave.

"Come on! It's making another dive at us!" I heard Cloud shout. The cave entrance was only a few yards away. I looked back and saw the zolom was right on top of us.

Both of is dove into the mouth of the cave. The zolom missing us by a hair. It hit the hard ground and squirmed around for a bit. It then retreated back into the marsh and back under ground.

Cloud and I were panting as we were laying on the ground. We just out ran the Midgar zolom.

"Cloud! Boto!" Tifa shouted out to us as every came running up to us.

"Are you guys okay!" Aeris asked getting ready to use her restore materia on us.

"Give... Me... A... Sec" I said in between breaths. My heart was still pounding. I still couldn't believe the my friggin chocobo had to trip and fall on something!

"What happened to you back there Boto?" Red asked as he walked up to me. I sat up finally catching my breath.

"My chocobo tripped on something. We fell over. Zolom found us." I said before I fell back down.

"We noticed that you weren't behind us when we made it to the cave. So I went to go see what happened to you when I heard the zolom." Cloud said as he stood up.

"Like I said, you're like a cockroach Boto." Barret said as he pulled me up. Tifa ran up and hugged both me and Cloud.

"As long as both of you are safe." She said before letting us go.

"I think we should take a quick break before we move on." Aeris said.

"Sounds good." Cloud said.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And there you have it! Chapter nine. Man! I've had big time writers block for this chapter. If anyone is willing to give me suggestions, that would be awesome! I hoped you enjoyed my complete and total rip-off of the Pokemon theme song. See you in chapter ten! I think Yuffie will be joining in the next chapter._


	10. Chapter 10: Awkward

_**Disclaimer: I don't own**_**_anything except for my stunning good looks. Yeah, even I'm laughing at that lie._**

_A/N: Chapter ten._

Chapter Ten: Awkward

* * *

><p>"Alright, I think we have rested long enough. Let's go." Cloud said as he stood up. Everyone got up and began to walk.<p>

"Did anyone see the zolom that was at the entrance to the cave?" Red asked.

Zolom? Oh yeah, it was the one that Sephiroth killed and stuck on that stick!

"Crap man, I was too busy running for my life to notice it." I said as I began to go in a different direction.

"Boto, where ya goin'?" Barret asked.

"Hold on, I think I can score us another tent! Just stay here! I will be right back!" I shouted as I took off. I ran into a chest that was at the top of these steps made of stone. I kicked it open. Inside was another tent.

"Da da da daaaaa!" I said as I lifted the tent above my head.

"Boto found a tent!" I shouted.

Man it feels good to make video game references inside of another video game.

I started to go back down when I noticed the ether that was off to the side. I picked it up and stored it in my satchel. I then quickly ran over to a vine that was leading up to an edge. I climbed up it. Once I was at the top I ran over and picked up the long range materia. I went back down and joined the rest of the group.

"Did you find anything?" Cloud asked.

"Yup, I scored a tent, ether, and a long range materia." I said as I tossed the long range to Cloud.

"I think you will get more use out of it since I'm already fighting in the back row." I said.

"How in the Hell do you find this stuff?" Barret asked. I shrugged my shoulders in the same way Cloud does. Barret just gave me a weird look before we moved on.

The cave was a lot bigger then the game let on. It took us a good hour to fin our way through it.

Alright, by the looks of it, were about to run into the Turks. Maybe if I slip on my hoody and retreat to the back they won't notice me.

I put my hoody on and slowed my pace down until I reached the back of the group. It wasn't long before we ran into the Turks.

"Just a second!" Rude shouted. Everyone stopped to see where the voice came from. As soon as we saw him, we ran up tom him. I stayed in the back though.

"Wh, Who are you!" Barret demanded.

"Do you know how I am?" Rude asked.

He just asked who are you! Do you honestly think that he is going to know!

Come on Cloud, just say not interested and let's go!

"From the Turks, right?" Cloud asked.

Son of a biscuit!

"Well, if you know, then this won't take long. It's difficult to explain what the Turks do..." Rude trailed off.

"Kidnapping, right?" Cloud butted in.

"To put it negatively... You could say that. But, that's not all there is to it, anymore..." After that Rude just went silent.

"Sir!" Everyone looked up to see where the new voice was coming from. It was Elena.

"It's alright, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!" She shouted, trying to sound as professional as possible.

"... Then explain Elena." Rude said sternly.

"I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena. Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short on people... Although, because of that I got promoted to the Turks... In any case our Job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try and stop you every step of the way. Oh, also, Reno said to be on the look out for a guy wearing a black hoody... Wait! You! In the back! Are you Hoody!" Elena shouted out, pointing directly at me.

Everyone turned around to look at me. I turned around too, hoping that there was someone else behind me as well.

"You're Hoody! Aren't you!" Elena shouted again.

I looked down at my hoody and looked back at Elena.

"No." I said bluntly.

"Yes you are! We have orders to bring you in!" Elena shouted.

"I am not the hooded man you are looking for." I said, waving my hand at her like a Jedi.

"Yes, you are!" She shouted back.

"No, I'm not." I said waving my hand again. Elena, along with everyone else, just gave me a weird look.

Darn me and my lack of Jedi mind trick powers!

"Elena, you talk too much." Tseng said as he walked into the cave.

"Mr. Tseng!" Elena shouted out in surprise.

"No need to tell them all our orders. Besides, Hoody is Reno's target, not ours." Tseng said.

"But sir!" Elena started.

"No buts. Now, I though I gave you other orders. No go. Don 't forget to file your report." Tseng said sternly.

"Oh! Right! Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth who is headed for Junon Harbor!" Elena shouted as she stood at attention.

"Elena, you don't seem to understand..." Tseng said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry..." Elena said as she put her head down.

"Go, don't let Sephiroth get away." Tseng said ah he rubbed his temples.

"Yes sir!" Both Rude and Elena said at the same time. As Rude and Elena began to leave Rude Turned around and pointed at me. He was about to say something but I beat him to it.

"Tell Reno that I said it's Node! Not Nerd!" I shouted at Rude while glaring pointing back at him. He just gave me a weird look.

"What?" He asked.

"Just tell him!" I yelled back at him. He turned his head to look at Tseng. Tseng just shrugged. Rude turned around and walked away.

Tseng walked up the the edge of the ledge that he was on.

"Well then..." He said while looking over to Aeris. Aeris walked up to him to meet his gaze.

"Aeris, long time no see. Looks like you got away from Shinra for a while, not that Sephiroth reappeared." He said, focusing fully on Aeris.

"So what are you saying? That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?" She asked in an angered tone.

"No... Well, I won't be seeing too much of you so take care." Tseng said looking away from her.

"Strange hearing that from you." Aeris said, still focusing on him.

"Well then, stay out of Shinra's way." Tseng said before leaving.

"... The Hell's that all 'bout!" Barret shouted after Tseng left.

"Hoody?" Red asked as he looked back at me. I just gave him a shrug.

Looks Like I have grown a liking to giving the same shrug as Cloud.

"We should star moving now. We know where Sephiroth is headed." Cloud said as he began to climb up the ledge Rude and Tseng were just on. Everyone followed him.

When we exited the cave the sun was starting to go down..

"Okay, let's make camp here for the night." Cloud said as he began to set his stuff down. Everyone began to put there things down as well.

Barret and Red where in charge of gathering fire wood, they had to go back into the cave to find some. Aeris, Cloud, and Tifa were in charge of clearing the area of monsters and what not. I was in charge of setting up the tents. Sadly, I had no idea how to set up a tent. At first it seemed to be going well, It was standing up just fine when suddenly, it collapsed.

I glared at the pile of... Tent that was sitting before me. It was glaring back at me, challenging me to try and set it up again. I was about to lite the thing on fire when Tifa walked up to me.

"Need help setting up the tents?" She asked with a smile. I sighed.

"Yup, as you can tell, I have never set up a tent before. I've never been camping either." I said. Which is true, I've never set up a tent and I've never been camping.

"Wait, what are you doing back? I thought that you were supposed to help Cloud and Aeris clear the area?" I asked.

"Well, I was but Cloud decided that two people was enough since there is barely anything out there right now. So, I came back." She said looking a little depressed. She then quickly replaced it with a smile.

"Here, let me show you how to set up a tent. I used to go camping in the mountains a lot when I was little." She said as she walked over to the tent pile.

Ha! Who's laughing now tents!

After a few minuets the first tent was up. Then the second and third tents were up as well. During that time everyone had returned from what they were doing. Barret set up the fire.

"Alright then, Boto, you will be taking first shift. In four hours let me wake me up and I will take on the rest of the night." Cloud said while we were eating what looked like some sort of ration. They tasted pretty good.

Everyone sat in silence as we ate, then quickly retreated to their tents. The tents held up to three people but since we had three of them it was two people to a tent. Barret and Cloud go the first one, Aeris and Tifa got the second, and Red got one all to him self while I was stuck on guard duty.

"Okay, time to play the stay awake game." I said silently to my self. I sucked at this game. At first I sat by the fire staring blankly at it. After a while I noticed that I was nodding off so I got up and walked around. I kept pulling out my i-phone to check the time every minuet or so. It was only making things go slower so I decided to just shut it off and pace around a lot.

After what seemed like ages I decided to pull out my phone again to see the time. It had only been thirty minuets.

"Guah! This is taking forever!" I said to my self.

"Maybe someone to talk to will make it go by quicker." A voice said from behind me. I turned around to find Red sitting at the campfire. I quickly turned my phone off and put it away. I walked over to him.

"Can't sleep?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Well, at least this won't be boring. So Red, tell me a little about your self." I said, resisting the urge to pet him on the head.

"There isn't much. I come from Cosmo Canyon. But what about your self? You said you don't remember much from you past?" Red asked, quickly changing the subject.

"No, I don't." I said looking into the fire.

"Why is that?" He asked, tilting his head to the right.

"Ya know, I don't really know. I just woke up in Midgar and eventually found everyone else. I don't really remember where I'm from" I said.

"Interesting. If I had to guess, I would say that you are from Wutai." Red said.

"Wutai?" I asked, giving him a weird look.

"Yes, you look like you are Wutainese, or, at least part." Red said while staring at me.

Oh, I see where he is getting that from. Every time I let my hair grow out all my friends and their dogs would swear up and down that I look like I'm Asian. The fact of the matter is I'm actually Mexican, well, half. Though due to my brown skin I look more Mexican than I do white.

"Huh, maybe." I decided to play along. There was a little bit of silence between us.

"What was that devise you were looking at earlier?" Red asked.

"What device?" I asked back.

"The one that you shoved into your pocket before you walked over here." He said, looking at my pocket.

Oh crap! He saw my phone! Well, now that I think about it, I don't see that harm in letting Red see it. He comes from Cosmo Canyon and by the looks of it, they aren't very advanced when it comes to technology, well, except for the observatory, so letting him see this won't weird him out to much. Plus I don't think he will ask to many questions or go blabbing to everyone else about it.

I decided to pull it out of my pocket.

"It's just a device I'v had for a while." I told him bluntly.

"Hm." He look at it quickly before losing interest in it.

"I never was into the technology that you humans use." He said before focusing on the fire again.

Score! I was right!

I put my phone away. We sat there for a while before Red looked up at the sky.

"I think it's time to wake Cloud up now." Red said

"Really? That was fast." I said looking up at the sky.

"As I have said, talking with someone will make it go by quicker." Red said before returning his gaze back to the fire.

I got up and walked over to Clouds tent. I crept in silently.

If that's one thing good that Jenova gave me, it was the ability to sneak around. I'm going to have to check to see if I can pick pocket as well.

I shook Cloud.

"Yo, it's your turn to watch now." I said silently. Cloud's eyes shot open and he got up quickly. He nodded his head and git up. Both of us walked out of the tent.

"Red, you going back to sleep?" I asked.

"Not now, I will stay out here a while longer." He said without breaking his gaze at the fire. I just nodded my head and walked into the tent. As soon as I laid down I fell asleep.

I don't remember much of my dream. The only things I do remember are Jenova being very angry for some odd reason, which some how made me very angry. I don't know why but it did.

I woke up with my hands formed into fists. I quickly shot up and saw that Red was now back int the tent asleep.

For some odd reason, I was in a bad mood. Everything bugged me to no end. I got out of the tent as fast as I could.

Cloud was outside, he was stretching when I walked out. He looked at me for a second.

"You okay, you look really... Tense." He said I said nothing back, instead I just picked up a stick that was laying on the ground and chucked it as hard as I could out into the open.

I don't know why but I somehow thought that doing so would make me feel better. It didn't.

Cloud just gave me a weird look.

"I don't know why but I'm just in a really bad mood. If you don't want your head torn off then leave me alone." I said in an angered tone.

Cloud just looked at me and nodded. He then went to the other tent to wake everyone up.

Why am I so mad! I'm usually a calm person! But I can't shake this anger! Gruahhh! This sucks! Thinking about being mad is only making me madder! Okay, try and think. I remember Jenova, I remember her being mad. Why would she be mad... Why would I be mad! This is only making me madder!

I was about to hit something when Cloud spoke up.

"Okay, today we head for Junon. Get something light to eat because we are leaving as soon as everything is packed." Cloud said when everyone was out of their tents.

I tried to pack up my tent but couldn't figure out how. I ended up just throwing it all to the ground and stomping on it.

"Stupid tent! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! I'll kill all your dogs!" I shouted as I stomped on it more.

"Uh, is it his time of the month or somthin'?" Barret asked with a grin. I shot a look at Barret that could kill a puppy.

"Barret! Shut the Hell up now now before I beat you within an inch of your life!" I shouted at him while I was pointing at him. Barret's grin turned to shock. Everyone was staring at me with their jaws hanging open.

"Okay, let's all calm down and get something to eat shall we? And Boto, don't worry about the tent, I will take care of it." Aeris said quickly as she walked over to me and pulled me away from the tent. She then handed me what looked like some sort of dried meat.

"Now, just stay here and eat." She said with a smile, trying to calm me down.

I feel bad now, which only makes me madder!

I devoured the dried meat and quickly grabbed my stuff. As soon as everyone was packed we took of in silence.

We were about half way through the day. So far no one said anything and I think I was starting to calm down. We were travailing through the forest.

Okay, I think I can get through this little anger issue if this keeps up. Just as long as nothing happens to make me mad-

"Drop all your weapons and put your hands in the air! You are in the presence of the White Rose of Wutai!" A girls voice shouted,

"Do it now before I-" She was cut off... By me.

"GUAHHHHHHHHHH!" I shouted as I pulled out Punisher and started shooting into the air. Everyone and everything around me went silent. Not even the birds where chirping. Everyone was looking at me with wide eyes.

I kept firing until I ran out off ammo. I then threw Punisher to the ground and pulled out my pistol and EMR. I pressed a button on the stun rod and electricity shot through it.

"Come out here!" I shouted. Suddenly a giant shuriken came flying at me from the trees.

"There you are!" I shouted as I fired at the shuriken. One of the bullets hit it and it was sent flying into a tree. Yuffie then jumped out from the trees. She look a little scared. She then started the throw a bunch of kunai at me. I rolled out of the way and fired my pistol at her. She rolled out of the way as well. I tried to fire my pistol at her again only to realize that I had run our of ammo.

Both of us looked up at the giant shuriken sticking out of the tree, it was up pretty high. We looked back at each other then back at the shuriken, the back at each other. Both of us at the same time made a dash for the shuriken.

When we made it to the tree both if us started climbing it as fast as we could. I broke one of the branches that Yuffie was using for support and she fell back down to the bottom. I ended up reaching the shuriken first.

"Ha! I won!" I shouted in victory.

"No fair! You cheated!" She shouted back!

"All's fair in love and me kicking your ass!" I shouted back at her. Yuffie was about to shout something back when the rest of the group started to surround her.

"Okay, just put your hands where I can see them." Cloud said as he pointed his buster sword at Yuffie. Yuffie looked around and then back up at me.

"I'll get you back for this!" She shouted before she threw down a little ball that burst into a cloud of smoke. Everyone below me was starting to cough. When the cloud of smoke cleared Yuffie was gone.

"Who was that?" Tifa asked while coughing. I climbed down the tree, still holding onto Yuffie's shuriken.

"I don't know but I'm feeling lodes better now." I said as I walked up to everyone.

"Remind me not to piss you off." Barret said.

"Well, now that that's over, let's head out." Cloud said.

Aw crap, I just realized. I just chased Yuffie away! Crap. Well, I don't think she will be going to far with out her shuriken. There's materia in it. And on the bright side, I'm no longer angry. Huh, I guess that battle helped me to vent.

It was interesting watching Barret tackled the monsters that tried to attack us since he was out of ammo. I ended up using the stun rod since I oh so stupidly wasted my ammo for Punisher in a fit of rage. It actually was pretty useful. My tactic was to burn my target and rush it. Not the best strategy out there but it got the job done. Since I didn't know how to use Yuffie's shuriken I didn't try to use it. Instead I just carried it around with me. It was actually pretty heavy.

It was already the end of the day and we still hadn't made it out of the forest. We decided to make camp. Same as last time, I had to set up the tents. They were still mocking me. But I 't going to lose to them.

After about thirty minuets or so I was able to set up the tents. They looked like they were ready to fall at any given moment. Tifa had to fix the tents. After all of that was finished we were sitting around the fire eating.

"Hey, everyone." I said kinda' sheepishly. Everyone looked over at me.

"I just wanted to apologize for my attitude earlier. I honestly don't know what came over me." I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Don't worry about it. We all have our bad days." Aeris said. Everyone seemed to agree.

"Okay, Barret, you take first watch. Boto,you take second. Everyone else, see you in the morning." Cloud said as he walked over to his tent. I got up and walked over to my tent as well. I was once again, sharing with Red.

I was sleeping pretty good until I felt a swift kick to the stomach and woke up. I looked up and saw Barret inside of the tent.

"It's your turn." He said before walking out. I got up, still in pain, and walked over to the fire that was still going. I sat down and just stared at the fire for a while.

Hm, I wonder what would happen if I lit a potion on fire. See the effects of that puppy. Nah, I don't want to wast any potions, we are going to need them.

I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around to see what caused it, nothing was there. I looked back at the fire, my hand getting closer to my stun rod. I then stopped and reached for my satchel instead.

"I know your out there. You can come on out, I won't hurt you. I still have your shuriken" I sad, hoping that my assumption was right and that I wouldn't sound like a complete idiot.

It wasn't to long before Yuffie walked out from the trees. She was giving me a weird look as she slowly inched her way towards me.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked.

"Lucky guess?" I said while shrugging. She still looked at me weird. I patted the spot next to me.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to flip out. Here, hold on a sec." I said as I pulled out another chocolate bar. I unwrapped it and held it out to her.

"What is that?" She asked suspiciously.

"It's chocolate." I said while holding out even further.

"You probably put poison in it or something." She said accusingly I sighed and took a bite out of it.

"See, it's fine." I said as I held it out it out to her again. When she was close enough she grabbed the chocolate bar and took a bite out of it as well. She then sat down next to me and held the chocolate bar out to me. Now I was the one giving her a weird look.

"I don't feel right eating it by my self. Take a bite." She demanded. I grinned as I grabbed it and took another bite. We kept handing the chocolate bar back and forth in silence.

Huh, never thought that I would be sharing a chocolate bar with Yuffie. When we finished t chocolate bar I decided to say something.

Hey, sorry for getting mad at you earlier and shooting at you. I don't know what came over me. But I should know how to treat a lady better." I said while looking at her. Yuffie's face turned red.

"Huh, oh that. Don't make me laugh. That was nothing compare to what I, Yuffie Kisaragi, the White Rose of Wutai, has had to face before." She said as she punched the air.

"Your names Yuffie huh? Well mines Robert, just call me Boto." I said with a smile.

"You know I was only going easy on you before right? Other wise I would have totally kicked your butt! But I decided that this poor looking guy could use a break so I decided to let you off hook." Yuffie said with a goofy grin on her face.

"Uh-huh, I bet you were." I said, still grinning.

"Yup, I was. After seeing you pathetic excuse of fighting I decided I would follow you and give you a few pointers on how to fight." Yuffie said.

"Well welcome to AVALANCHE. I will introduce you to the rest of the group in the morning.": I said while holding out my hand.

Yeah, I have no authority to let people in the group but Yuffie is supposed to join anyways... Well, sort of. She is an optional character but still.

"Yeah, you guys can use someone of my skills, I'm the best in the whole world! I can win any battle, seduce any man, pick any lock, you name it I can do it!" She said while giving me another grin. I just grinned back at her,

Ya know, I don't see why people find Yuffie so annoying. To be honest, she's just like most of my friends.

"Are you from Wutai?" Yuffie asked.

"Why do you ask?" I responded.

"You look like you are but I don't think I've seen your face before." She said. I just laughed a little.

"What's so funny!" She demanded.

"Huh, oh, it's nothing." I said. There was more silence between us.

"So where am I sleeping?" She finally asked.

"Looks like you're sleeping out here tonight since it would be pretty awkward for you to waltz into one of the tents and fall asleep. Especially since they don't even know you." I said while looking at the fire now.

Yuffie frowned.

I don't think she was expecting that answer.

Yuffie walked to the other side of the fire.

"It doesn't matter. This princess knows how to rough it in the woods." Just don't get any funny ideas about coming over here!" She told me before laying down.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I said with a grin.

"What, too good for me or something!" She said with a bit of anger in her voice. I just laughed.

"Good night Yuffie." I said.

"Hm!" She grunted before rolling over on her side.

I don't know when it happened but I fell asleep while keeping watch. It must have been when I decided that it would be a good idea to lay down. The only thing I know is that my blanket was really warm.

Wait, I don't have a blanket... Then what's keeping me warm?

"So, if I'm correct, does this make you two 'lovers' as you humans would say." I heard Red saying. My eyes instantly shot open. The sun was just starting to come up. I was laying down on my side. I noticed that my arms where wrapped around something and that something was wrapped around my waist. I looked down to see Yuffie in my arms, head resting against my chest.

When I looked down at her she looked up at me. Both of our faces turned red.

"GUAHHHH!" Both of us screamed as we pushed each other away. We rolled in opposite directions and jumped onto our feet.

Everyone came rushing out of their tents.

"Wh-what's going on!" Tifa said groggily as she put her fists up ready to fight.

"I'll tell you whats going on! This pervert was getting all lovey dovey on me while I was trying to sleep!" Yuffie shouted while pointing at me

"I was getting lovey dovey! You were the one that curled up next to me! I stayed on my side of the fire! You were the one that came over to my side!" I shouted back.

"I'm not responsible for what I do in my sleep! Besides, you were the one holding me!" She shouted back.

"Me! You were the one that was holding me like I was some sort of teddy bear!" I shouted at her.

"I don't sleep with teddy bears!" Yuffie shouted out.

"Wait, isn't that the chick from yesterday?" Barret asked, still completely out of it.

"Humans are so strange." Red said still looking at me and Yuffie.

"Alright! Settle down everyone!" Cloud shouted out. He then pointed at me

"Start talking, who is she?" Cloud asked.

"Her name is Yuffie. She is our newest member." I said still completely red in the face. Everyone gave me a a weird look.

"I'm going to go dunk my head in some water to wake up. I'll let her explain her self." I said as I walked off.

I'm pretty sure I saw a stream near by. Man, that was awkward. I definitely needed an excuse to get away from there. Though I am still tired and a quick splash to the face wont' hurt. I'm not going to lie though, as awkward as that was I did enjoy holding Yuffie... No one read my mind right?... Good.

I saw a stream and walked up to it. I took a deep breath and put my head under the water. It was nice and cool. It did the trick at waking me up. I kept it under there for as long as I could hold my breath. I then lifted my head back up and let the air I was holding in out.

"Guahhh! Much better." I said to my self.

"Freeze!" I heard some one shout. I looked up and saw four Shinra infantry men pointing their guns at me.

"Tell Reno we finally found our target." One of them said.

Aw crap.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Woo hoo! Chapter ten was a lot easier to type up then I thought it would be! What's going to happen to Boto? You will just have to wait until the next chapter to find out! Happy New Years!_


	11. Chapter 11: Crap

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Even if I did, I would have sold long ago not even knowing what it was.**_

_A/N: Oh man! I just discovered the most coolest thing ever! While I was at work the other day I learned that an apron can look like a cape! Hey, I get bored at work! Don't judge me! Here's the next chapter._

Chapter Eleven: Crap

* * *

><p>Tseng was on his way to the "Employee Lounge", otherwise known as the bar that they reserve in Junon. He's had a long day and wanted to relax for a little bit. As soon as Tseng opened the door he instantly wanted to leave.<p>

"Node, not nerd? What's that even supposed to mean yo?" Reno said as Rude shrugged. Tseng tried to turn around and leave but he to late.

"Tseng! Please tell me that you didn't let my target go yo!" Reno shouted out. Tseng sighed, he knew this was coming, he just wasn't expecting it so early. Rude and Elena were already there.

"You mean you did let him go yo!" Reno shouted again. Tseng just walked up to the counter and sat down. He looked at the bar tender.

"The usual." He said before rubbing his temples. He was in for am ear full now. Reno moved next to him.

"Why'd you let him go yo!" Reno demanded.

"Because he's your target, not ours. Besides, out main priority is to look for Sephiroth." Tseng said as he began to get impatient for his drink.

"Dammit!" Reno said as he slouched over the counter. Tseng looked over at Reno and Rude who were staying quiet.

"Did you at least get a good look at him yo?" Reno asked.

"I did!" Elena said quickly. Tseng shot her a look that said 'Don't' but it was to late now. Reno put his head up.

"You did! What did he look like yo!" He asked eagerly. Elena looked to Tseng for help but Tseng just closed his eyes and sighed again. He then nodded his head, giving her the okay to to tell him.

"Right, he was tall, had shaggy black hair that was kind of long. He had tanned skin and looked like he was Wutainese. He is heading here with the rest of the terrorist group known as AVALANCHE. " She said racking her memory for what else she could remember. Reno got out off his stool and did a fist pump.

"Yes!" Reno said excitedly.

"I'm gonna call the boys up and let them know where their target is headed yo! The sucker is gonna pay!" He shouted has he pulled out his PHS. Before he could turn it on and dial the number it began to ring. Reno gave the PHS an annoyed look before he answered it.

"What!" He shouted.

"Sir, we've found the target!" A voice said from the other end of the PHS. Gun fire could be heard in the background.

"You did! Well what are you waiting for! Get him yo!" Reno shouted into the PHS.

"We're trying but he's on the run! I swear, right when we think we have him he slips out of our grasp! He's like a cockroach or something! He- Holy Hell! That's a huge sword! Look ou-" The line went dead. The only thing that could be heard was a bunch of beeps.

"Crap!" Reno shouted as he threw his PHS onto the ground and stomped on it. He then started to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Tseng asked.

"To buy another PHS." Reno said as he walked out of the room. It was silent for a moment.

"If only he put that much effort and emotion into his normal work." Rude said as he took another drink.

"If only..." Tseng trailed off.

"What information did you manege to get on him sir?" Elena asked. They had information on everyone else in the group except for Hoody.

"Not much, it's as though he came out of nowhere." Tseng said. Elena gave him a weird look.

"Sir?" She asked.

"There's nothing on him. The only thing we have on him is when he entered the Shinra HQ. The last thing we have of that is him running into Sephiroth and Jenova. After that there is nothing but static." Tseng said, looking for the bartender. He wanted to know where he was with his drink.

"Interesting." Rude said.

"Wait, he ran into Sephiroth and survived!" Elena asked surprised. Tseng nodded his head.

"Yup, it seems as though he may have some sort of connection with them. We aren't sure yet." Tseng said as the bartender finally came back and handed him his drink. He downed it in one go.

"Another." He said to the bartender.

* * *

><p>Aw crap.<p>

I looked at the four infantry men pointing their guns at me. They were on the other side of the stream and a few yards back from it.

"Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly." One of them said.

"Now!" Another one of them shouted.

Okay, you can get out of this, just think of something.

I put my hands in the air and slowly stood up.

"Alright, no need to shout. See, I'm putting my hands in the air. Now then lets ju- What the Hell is that!" I shouted as I quickly pointed behind them. All of them turned around pointing their guns in the opposite direction.

I stood in my spot frozen for a second in disbelief that the oldest rick in the book just worked. In the booked it in the opposite direction.

"Son of a-" I heard one of them shout before they opened fire.

"After him!" Another one shouted.

"Crap crap crap! Running running running!" I shouted ad I reached for my stun rod. I grabbed at it only to realize that it wasn't there.

"Aw crap! Right when I needed it it goes missing!" I shouted as I began to run faster. I tripped on a root that was sticking out of the ground at hit the floor with a loud thud. I rolled onto my back just in time to see one of theme lobbing a grenade at me.

"Oh crap!" I shouted. I jumped back onto my feet as soon as the grenade landed next to me. I quickly kicked it back into their direction.

"Take cover!" One of them shouted.

I turned around and ran again. One second later there was an explosion. It was a few more seconds later that they started opening fire again.

Do I have my materia on me!... Crap! I don't even have that on me! I have no weapons!

I saw another grenade fly past my head. I stopped and dove to the left and landed on the ground, covering my head. The grenade went off, causing a tree to fall over. The tree fell in my direction. I looked up and saw that it was about to land on me. I rolled to the right just narrowly avoiding it. They continued to open fire.

"Crap! Where the heck is the camp!" I shouted out. I quickly got up and dove behind another tree. When I was behind it I ran again.

I saw Cloud running in my direction with Red and Tifa as well.

"Boto!" Cloud shouted.

"Throw me a friggin weapon!" I shouted back at him. They saw the four soldiers running after me. I took cover behind a tree while Cloud charged one.

"Holy Hell! That's a huge sword! Look ou-" He said before Tifa came up from the side and punched him in the face. Red ran up to the third guy and tackled him to the ground while Cloud rushed the last two guys from the front using his sword to block the bullets. In an instant the forest went silent.

I was laying on my stomach taking cover. I was breathing heavily and my heart was pounding. Once the noise had stopped I stood up. I saw the three walking up to me.

"We can't leave you alone for five seconds without something happening to you can we." Tifa said with more of a statement than a question. I rubbed the back of my head and gave a nervous laugh.

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

"Well, remember when we were in the caves the those Turks were talking about how that other Turk named Reno was after? Well, those were his flunkeys." I said. Cloud just sighed.

"You're just causing all sorts of trouble this morning." Cloud said as he began to walk back to the camp. The rest of us followed. When I got back to the camp Yuffie instantly began asking questions.

"What happened out there! Why was there a lot of explosions?" She asked rapidly while circling around me. I just laughed and explained to everyone what happened.

"You have a Turk after you!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yup." I said bluntly.

"Alright, enough with the shouting. Let's get packed and ready to go." Cloud said as he walked by.

Once we were all packed we left. It took us about an hour to get out of the forest. The entire time Yuffie kept going from person to person asking them a bunch of questions. A couple of times she tried to snag their materia. I don't think the noticed. I held tightly onto mine.

"So Boto! Tell me about your self." Yuffie said as she finally reached me.

"Meh, not much to know" I said.

"Uh-huh, that's great." She said walked to the left of me. I noticed that she was trying to match her arms movement with mine as I let it swing back and forth as I walked. Her hand slowly inching it's way to mine. My bangle was on my left hand.

"What about your self?" I said as I put my hands in my pockets.

"Never mind." She said a bit disappointed before taking off to talk to someone else.

By the time we made it to Junon the sun was just starting to set.

"What happened to this town? It's so run down." Cloud said as soon as we walked into the town.

"I agree, it looks like crap." I said a little to loudly. Tifa elbowed me in the side.

We walked around for a bit asking people if they had seen a man with a black cape around here. They either said they haven't seen some like that or shrugged. When we started coming up to the beach I suddenly stopped.

"Wait! Hold on a sec guys!" I shouted out. Everyone stopped to look at me.

"What is it?" Aeris asked. I put Punisher and my satchel down. I took off my shoes and socks and then took off my hoody and shirt. Everyone was looking at me weird.

"The Hell are you doin'?" Barret asked.

"We're at the beach right? Might as well go swimming for a bit." I said. I was actually getting ready to fight Bottomswell. I figured since Punisher was out of ammo I might as well leave it behind. We didn't stop at any of the shops. We were going to do that later. Also, I was not going to have my phone short out on me so I put it into my satchel when no one was looking. I kept my stun rod on me though. I also figured that I might as well try to keep most of my clothes dry.

"We don't have time to be messing around." Cloud said.

"By the looks of it, Sephiroth isn't here yet. We might as well just take a little time to rest. Besides, if anything does happen I still have my stun rod and materia on me." I said as I bunched all my stuff together in a pile, making sure that it wont get wet.

"Swimming sounds like fun!" Yuffie shouted out.

"But-" Cloud began to protest but was cut off.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going for a swim." Tifa said.

"But-" Cloud began again but was quickly cut off.

"Come on Spikey, just chill for a bit." Barret said. Cloud just sighed. Red didn't seem to care to much.

"Okay, but only for a bit. We are still keeping our weapons on us." Cloud said. I did an inward fist pump. I was about to go on walking when I stopped again. I picked up my hoody and ran forward to Tifa.

"Wait! Tifa!" I shouted. She turned around.

"Hm?" She said.

"You plan on going swimming in that?" I asked pointing to her clothes. She gave me a weird look.

"Yeah, why?" She asked. I threw my hoody at her.

"Then you might want to wear that." I said. She gave me another weird look. I looked down at her white shirt then back to her face. She looked down at her white shirt then back at my face. She blushed.

"Right." She said as she quickly put on my hoody.

Man, I'm surprised that they didn't point that out in the game. Water and white shirts do not mix well.

As we made out way to the beach we saw a little girl talking to a dolphin.

"My name is Pri-scil-la! No you say it." She said joyfully to the dolphin. As we got closer to her she turned around and looked at us.

"Who are you guys? Are you members of the Shinra, Inc.?" She asked while giving us an accusing look.

"No, we ain't got nothin' to do with Shinra!" Barret shouted.

"I don't believe you! Get out of here!" Priscilla shouted back.

"Great." Cloud said with sarcasm. Suddenly that water started to get rough and send in bigger waves.

Okay, here he comes.

It wasn't to long before Bottomswell appeared. The thing popped out of the water. It looked freak and huge in real life.

"Look a that!" Tifa shouted out. Everyone was staring at Bottomswell. The dolphin suddenly swarm towards it.

"Be careful Mr. Dolphin!" Priscilla shouted as she ran to it. Before she could go out further I grabbed her and pulled her back.

"No!" I shouted. She tried to fight against me.

"Let me go!" She protested.

"I can't! It's to dangerous! Let us handle it!" I said while holding on to her.

"But, you're with the Shinra!" She shouted.

"No we're not! We're heroes!" I said. She stopped fighting at looked me right in the eyes.

"You better save him!" She shouted. I nodded and let her go. She stepped back as I put on my goggles and charged in.

"Boto!" Cloud shouted before he charged in with me. Everyone shortly followed getting ready for battle.

"We won't be able to attack this thing at close range so we have to use our materia! Cloud! Catch!" I shouted as I threw him the long range materia. He caught it and nodded.

Cloud was the first to attack. He swung his sword and the attack traveled into the air and hit Bottomswell. I was next. I focused on my fire materia and did a did a sweeping motion with my left hand at it. It didn't do much damage but at least it was something. Yuffie threw he shuriken at it. The shuriken scraped the side of him. Though due to her materia it had shocked him.

Hm, I guess she had a lightning materia in her weapon.

Bottomswell quickly used used his bubble attack on us. Cloud and I ended up getting trapped inside the bubbles. I was in one while he was in the other.

The bubble was completely filled with water. I was holding my breath for as long as I could while I tried to smash my way out. I could barely move due to the water pressure. I couldn't hold my breath any longer and let my air out. As soon as I did that a bolt of lightning hit the bubble and it popped. I hit the floor gasping for air.

"Boto! You alright!" Yuffie shouted. I got up and gave her the thumbs up.

"Thanks!" I shouted back to her. I quickly re-focused on Bottomswell. Barret and Tifa were casting ice on him. Red was casting earth in him,

When did Red find an earth materia!

"Boto! Do you need healing?" Aeris asked as she quickly ran from Clout to me.

"I'm fine. I just need to find a way to attack up up close... Cloud! Get over here!" I shouted. Cloud quickly ran over to us.

"What he said as he began to cast fire on Bottomswell.

"Cloud, I want you to swing me on your sword and launch me at that thing!" I shouted as I pointed to Bottomswell. He looked at me and nodded his head.

"That's crazy!" Aeris shouted.

"I know! That's why I'm doing it!" I shouted back.

Cloud readied his sword for me to stand on. I crouched on top of it while holding onto the blunt side.

"When I say go I want you to let go of my sword okay?" Cloud said. I nodded my head.

Cloud began to swing his sword around. At first it was slow, then it sped up. I was starting to get a little dizzy.

"Go!" He shouted. I let go of the sword and went flying into the air. I landed on Bottomswell's back. I almost fell of the I grabbed onto him. He didn't seem to like that very much and started to try and shake me off. I held on tight as it rolled around in the air and dove in and out of the water.

"Let's hope this works!" I shouted out as I pulled out the stun rod. I jammed it into a soft spot on Bottomswell's back, it went through the skin. It let out a loud cry in pain. I then used the rod to shock him.

It was working, electricity was going through his entire body. Unfortunately since I was on him I was also getting electrocuted.

"Uahhhhhhh!" I screamed as the electricity went through my body. It didn't help with the fact that we were both covered in water. It was trying to throw me off as it kept roaring in pain. It wouldn't let go.

Everything started to go black for me. Finally the beast gave in. In one finally attempt to take us out it sent a huge wave at us. After that both if us fell into the ocean. Before I hit the water I past out.

Some one was pressing against my chest hard over and over again. Then I felt air going into me

"He's breathing!" I heard someone shout.

"Quick, do it again!" Another person shouted.

"Guahh." someone groaned.

"Just do it!" The person shouted again. I felt a moth press against mine and breath air again. My eyes shot open and I saw Cloud giving me mouth to mouth. I instantly shoved him off of me and rolled over. I started coughing up the water that was in my lungs.

"He's alright!" Someone shouted.

"Boto! Are you okay!" Aeris shouted as she ran up to me holding a restore materia. She quickly used it on me.

"Someone! Kill me now Cloud just made out with me!" I said while still coughing. I could hear Yuffie busting up laughing in the background.

"What?" Aeris asked confused. I continued to cough.

"Ughhhhh." Cloud shuddered. "How do you think I feel." He said also on his hands and knees looking like he was about to throw up. Yuffie laughed even louder.

"Barret! Shoot me with your gun arm!" I shouted as I looked over at him.

"I can't do that." Barret said bluntly. My eyes widened.

"Why not! It's simple, just point and shoot!" I shouted. Barret shook his head.

"As much as I would love to put you out'a your misery I can't. I'm outta' ammo." He said as he shook his head more. I banged my head on the ground.

"Wait! I still have a couple of clips in my pistols!" I shouted as I quickly stood up. I fell back over. My body ached all over.

"Calm down, you will only hurt your self even more." Red said.

"Take it easy, just relax and let me heal you. It's a miracle you didn't die, let alone have burn marks." Aeris said as she gave me a potion. Yuffie was now on the ground rolling.

"Oh this is the funniest thing I've ever seen. Your faces, your faces look so funny!" Yuffie continued to laugh.

"Yuffie, shut up!" I said as I drank the potion.

"Oh but I can't. That image is still in my head. You laying on the beach, shirtless, Cloud bending over to breath life into you." Yuffie said in a very dramatic voice before busting up laughing. Even Aeris started to laugh at that.

"Please don't remind me." Cloud said, looking like he was going to throw up.

"Please don't put the image in my head." I said, feeling like I was going to throw up.

"Tifa, are you alright? Your nose is bleeding." Red asked as he walked over to her.

"Huh! What! Oh, this, I'm fine it's just from all the... Salt water..." She said as she tried to hide her bloody nose. Red gave her a weird look and Yuffie laughed even harder at Tifa.

Oh you've gotta be kidding me! You mean Tifa enjoyed watching that!

"Dang it Cloud! Why didn't you just let me die!" I shouted.

"Believe me, I would have but Tifa insisted that I do CPR." Cloud said.

Ughhh this day sucks now. And to top it all off for some odd reason he tasted like chocobo greens.

Priscilla walked up to me and gave me a hug.

"Thanks for saving Mr. Dolphin. Sorry I thought you guys were with the Shinra. Why not come to my place to rest!" She suggested.

"We'll take it!" I said quickly. Just then a man came down to us.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"These people saved Mr. Dolphin from a monster so I told they can stay at our house!" She said happily.

"No Priscilla, you know you can't just invite people like that to stay with us." He said softly as he knelt down to pick her up.

"Please! That monster would have attacked me too if it wasn't for them!" She begged. The man seemed to mull it over for a bit before speaking.

"We don't have enough room. Though I do know Reggie will let them stay and rest for a while. Besides, those two young men on the ground look like they are about to be sick. Yuffie continued to laugh.

Priscilla looked really happy as the man let her down. As soon as she was down she ran over to me.

"Come on! Follow me!" She said. Barret had to help me up

"It'll all be okay, as soon as I get some ammo I'm gonna get some ammo and then I can shoot you and put you outta your misery. Sound good?" Barret said.

"Thank you." I said as I put my head down. On out way there Barret also helped me pick up my stuff.

Man, this guy can do a lot with one arm.

Soon all of us were at an elderly woman's house. Priscilla was already there explaining to her what had happened. Her name was Reggie. When she saw was she smiled at us and welcomed us into her house.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you need to We only have on shower so you will just have to take turns using it. As for everyone's clothes just leave them out for me when you wash up ans I'll have the fixed up in no time." She said as she made the three beds that were in the room and set out some thick blankets on the floor.

"I'll be spending some time with Priscilla so juts relax or shop or what ever you need to." She said as she left the room.

"Okay, your injuries are still pretty bad so you will have to rest for the remainder of the night." Aeris said to me as Barret led me over to a spot on the floor. He let go of me and I fell to to the ground. I wasn't expecting him to let me go so suddenly. I hit the floor with a thud.

Pain went through my body as I laid there. I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out. To much pain.

"Barret!" Aeris shouted.

"What? He's a man, he can take it." Barret said with a grin as he walked out.

"We're going to gather some supplies really quickly." Cloud said as he left the room. Tifa, Aeris and Barret followed him. Red and Yuffie decided to stay behind with me. The three of us were silent.

"So, Boto, you have any more of that chocolate?" Yuffie asked as she scooted next to me.

"Chocolate? So that's what that's what I've been smelling this entire time." Red said as he sat down on the other side of me. I propped my self up and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, I still have some. Can you hand me my satchel? Also my shirt?" I asked. Yuffie got up and quickly grabbed my stuff and handed it to me. I put my shirt on and opened up my satchel and pulled out a chocolate bar.

I broke in into three pieces and gave one to Red and the other to Yuffie.

"Thank you." Red said.

"Thanks!" Yuffie said already with a mouth full of chocolate.

"No problem." I said as I slowly ate the chocolate.

Huh, I wonder if Red is able to eat chocolate? He is a dog type thing isn't he? Or is he? I really don't know... I would ask him but that would seem kinda' rude.

"Hey, what's this?" Yuffie said, braking my thoughts.

"Huh?" I looked over at her and she was going through my satchel holding my i-phone.

Aw carp. Not her too. Actually, now that I think about, what's the big deal if they find out about it? It's not like I need to hide it or anything. I'll just tell them I found it a long time ago or something. Besides, it's too late to do anything about it now.

"It's a PHS type thing." I said.

"Really? I've never seen a PHS like this. It doesn't have any buttons on it but I can still touch things! This thing plays music too! Can we call Cloud?" She asked eagerly.

"It's called a touch screen. Though calling Cloud won't work, it needs to have a signal. Besides, I have no way of charging it so-" She cut me off.

"Hello? Cloud? It's me! Yuffie!" She shouted.

What the? I didn't know I could use that thing to call other people here? That makes on sense! How does that even work.

"Yeah, I know you have both of the PHS's but Boto has his own really neat looking one! It has a thing called a touch screen and it plays music and it looks so cool! You should buy me one while you guys are shopping!" Yuffie shouted with joy.

"Huh, so that's what that thing does." Red said as he laid down.

"What kind is it? Is says... Apple. Never heard of it!" She said excitedly.

Huh, this may cause more trouble then I though. Oh well, I will deal with that puppy when it gets here. I'm still sore.

"You want to talk to Boto? What for! Am I not good enough for you now!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yuffie, just hand it to me." I said.

"Fine." She said and handing it to me while she pouted her face. I grabbed it and put it on speaker phone.

"Yo." I said.

"Boto?" Cloud asked.

"Holy! Cloud I can hear you!" Yuffie shouted.

"I'll explain later. What did you want to ask?" I said.

"Uh, why didn't you tell us you had a PHS?" He asked.

"Honestly, I didn't think this would work. Believe me when I say this but I'm more surprised then you are." I said as I put the phone next to me.

"Huh. Well, I will ask you more about it when we get back." Cloud said before he hung up.

That went better than I thought it would.

I picked the phone back up and decided to play some music.

Well, if that cats out of the bag might as well have fun with it.

"What are you doing now?" Yuffie asked excitedly.

"I'm going to play some music." I said as I went through the music library, Yuffie was leaning next to me trying to see what I was doing.

"Wow, that's a lot of things on there." She said.

"Yup. Ah, I found it." I said as I pressed the song. The song started to play.

"What's this?" Yuffie asked.

"One of the best songs ever! 'Pumped Up Kicks'" I said as I leaned listened to the music.

"Robert?" Hey that's you!" Yuffie shouted.

"No Yuffie, the songs not about me." I said. I started to nod my head to the beat. Yuffie did that same thing. Red just looked annoyed at the music.

"This sounds horrible." He said before getting up leaving.

"Suit your self." I said as the song continued. When the song had finished Yuffie looked at me.

"Play the song again!" She demanded. I put the song on repeat and both of us listened to it over and over again.

~"_All the other kids with the pumped up kicks_

_ you better run better run,_

_ outrun my gun!"~_ Both of us were singing along with the song as we pumped our fist in the air to the words.

~"_All the other kids with the pumped up kicks_

_ you better run better run,_

_ faster than my bullet"~_ Both of us continued to sing. We didn't even notice when Cloud and the rest walked back into the room.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked. Bot of us stopped and looked and everyone in the room now.

"Cloud!" Yuffie shouted. She ran over to him and grabbed him by the arm.

"You have to see this PHS!" She shouted as she dragged him over to me.

Well, here we go.

I held up the phone as it played music. Everyone walked over to me and looked it it.

"Isn't it great!" Yuffie shouted.

"They've been playing that song none stop!" Red shouted from another room.

"What is it?" Aeris asked.

"It's a PHS." I said.

"It's so cool! You guys have to buy me one!" Yuffie shouted as she took it from my hand and started digging through the music library.

"I've never seen a model like that." Tifa said as she looked over Yuffie's shoulder.

"I want to see." Aeris said as she looked over the other shoulder.

"Let me see that." Batter said as he stood behind Yuffie looking over her head at it.

"Where did you get that?" Cloud asked me.

"I remember my dad giving it to me when I was little. I don't remember to much from it. I don't use it a whole lot since I don't have a way to charge it." I said, trying to remember that plan I came up with while Yuffie and I were listening to the music earlier.

"What do you mean charge it?" Yuffie asked.

"What I mean by that it, it doesn't take normal batteries so it came with a cord that allowed me to charge it. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to the cord so I don't use it as much." I said. Yuffie had changed the songs on it now. The guitar started up on it. I instantly knew what it was. 'Season's Call'. As the song went on the lyrics started up.

"Hey! This is Wutainese!" Yuffie shouted. Everyone looked at it.

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked.

"I grew up in Wutai, of course I'm sure! What I didn't know is that there are songs like this." Yuffie said while looking at the phone then at me.

"Hey, like I said, my dad gave that to me when I was younger." I lied, I bought that puppy with my own money.

"Who ever your father was he must have been a very... Interesting man." Cloud said as the song went on.

"I don't remember much of him." I said.

"This thing is awesome! I didn't you you can look at other things while the music is still playing!" Yuffie shouted.

"Photos, games, movies. What don;t you have on here?" Tifa asked.

Oh crap the photos! I know for a fact that I downloaded some Final Fantasy 7 pictures. Crap, what do I do now! I can try take it by force! Nah, that won't work, it would look suspicious and I won't be able to since my body is still sore. I can tell them that I need to see something on it really quickly. Hopefully Yuffie will give it back.

Wait, the movies! I forgot which movie I had on there! Aw crap! If I have Advent Children as one of my movies on there and they find it, I'm screwed. See Robert, this is why you go with you first instinct on things and not ignore that bad feeling in your gut.

"Yuffie! Let me see that." I said quickly.

"But I'm not done looking at it!" She whined.

"Come on Yuffie, it's important." I responded.

"But." She started to protest.

"But nothing, hand it to me." I said in a stern tone. She sighed and handed it to me.

Holy crap! It worked!

She was just starting to go through the photos. So far it was just a bunch of random anime pictures. I quickly checked the movies I had. There was Muppet Treasure Island, Princess Mononoke, and Advent Children. I quickly closed everything and turned it off. I then put it into my pocket.

"Hey! I wasn't done looking at that!" She protested.

"The battery on this will die soon. I want it to last as long as possible. You can look at the stuff later." I said. Yuffie just pouted.

"I wouldn't mind looking at it later." Aeris said excitedly.

"Same here, I want to see what things you have on it and just what it can do." Tifa said.

"Hm, it's awright." Barret said.

"Just as long as you don't play those awful songs." Red aid as he walked back into he room.

"Okay, that's enough for one night. We're going to be heading out early Tomorrow morning. As far as we know, Sephiroth has already left Junon." Cloud said.

I did another inward sigh of relief. I let my back slide on the wall as I lay back down on the floor again.

Yuffie, Aeris, and Tifa took the three beds. Everyone one else was stuck on the floor. Soon the lights went out.

Man, that old lady like to stay out late. Oh well, I will just get up early tomorrow and beat everyone to the shower. Hopefully she will be here and up to take care of my clothes. Wait, Tifa was still wearing my hoody! Crap, oh well, I will just as for it back tomorrow.

I stayed awake for a little a little while just staring off into space. I then closed my eyes to try and get some sleep. I heard someone get up. I was to lazy to see who it was. They tried to make as little noise as possible. Whoever it was they were coming in my direction.

Soon the footsteps stopped and I heard someone kneel down next to me. I opened my eyes just in time to see Yuffie trying to stick her hand into my pocket where my i-phone was.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" I asked quietly.

"Uhhh." She said before going silent.

"I told you that you can see the PHS later. Now go to bed." I said as I rolled away from her.

"Hm" She pouted before returning to bed. I laid down on my side where the i-phone was so she couldn't try to take it again. My back was against the wall. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

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><p><em>AN: Woo! Eleven chapters already! In the next one we should be "boarding" the ship and headed to Costa De Sol! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And remember, reviews are greatly appreciated. Also, ideas and suggestions are still welcomed! Now if you will excuse me there a cat protesting loudly in the streets. I'm going to go see why. See you in the next chapter!_


	12. Chapter 12: All Aboard

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did I sure as heck wouldn't be spending my time on here! Who am I kidding, yes I would.**_

_A/N: Alright everyone! Here's chapter twelve._

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><p>Chapter Twelve: All Aboard<p>

I woke up early the next morning. My body still sore but not as sore. It hurt a little to move but is was manageable. I looked out the window and it was still dark out. I was up really early. Walked around for a bit trying to be quiet. I noticed that the elderly woman, Reggie was already up.

"My, you're up early." She said quietly.

"My, your in late." I said. She just laughed a little.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I was in shortly after the lights went out. Why not go take a shower, it looks like you need one. Just leave your clothes out and I'll have them cleaned up for you." She said kindly.

"Thank you." I said. She then led me to the bathroom. I emptied my pockets while I was in the bathroom and left my clothes out. I took a quick shower. Before I knew it my clothes were already stacked in a neat pile looking as if they were brand new. I put them on and walked out.

"You work really fast." I said when I saw Reggie. She just smile and lightly laughed.

"When you get to my age you learn a thing or two. Oh, also, Priscilla wanted me to give this to you for saving Mr. Dolphin." She said and handed me an amulet. It had the Shiva summon materia on it.

"Tell her I said thank you." I said with a grin. I out it into my pocket. I decided to take a quick stroll outside. I let Reggie know where I was going and grabbed all my stuff.

"Maybe I can finally restock on ammo." I said when I walked outside. I noticed that there was a lot of soldiers heading for the upper part of Junon.

"Oh, right, the parade. I almost forgot about that." I said to my self as I looked for a store that wasn't in the way of the parade. After a while of walking around I finally found a weapons shop. I walked into it only to find the cashier asleep at the desk. I walked over to the cashier and shook him.

"Hey, buddy, wake up. You have a customer." I said.

"Huh? Wha?" He said as he put his head up, a little bit of drool going down the side of his mouth.

"I need to buy some ammo." I said.

"Sorry, were closed. Shinra took all my ammo last night and brought it with them to their boat or something." He said while he wiped the drool of his face and put his head back down on the counter to go back to sleep.

"Crap! I need ammo! The only other place that would sell it would be where the parade is being held. Or, I could wait until we stowaway on the boat and look for their weapons locker." I said as I walked out of the shop.

As I was leaving the shop music began to play.

"Uh-oh, the band is starting to practice. I better hurry back to Cloud and the others." I said as I began to jog back.

When I got back Everyone was standing around the front of the house except for Cloud, he was already gone.

"Yo! Boto! The Hell took you so long!" Barret shouted as I jogged up to them.

"I was looking for ammo! No one told me that there was no more ammo left!" I shouted back at him. Barret just shook his head.

"Awright, now that everyone is here we can make a plan on how to get to the boat." Barret said.

"Wait, where's Cloud?" I asked. I had to at least sound like I didn't know what was going on.

"He went ahead of us. We'll meet up with him later. Right now, we have to get on that boat so we can cross the ocean to get to the next continent." Barret said, looking happy that he is able to be leader again.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Tifa asked. Barret lifted his hand up and was about to say something when he suddenly stopped. He was silent for a bit.

"I'm still thinkin' of one." Barret finally said. Everyone just sighed.

"I have an idea." I said. Everyone looked at me.

"What is it?" Red asked.

"Well, I say we try to sneak in with of three groups of two. That way we will be harder to notice. Once inside we steal so uniforms and regroup." I said.

"Hm, not a bad idea, glad I though if it." Barret said with a grin. I just face palmed.

"Yeah, right. Now we just have to figure out the pairs." I said.

"I claim Boto!" Yuffie shouted as she instantly clung to my arm. Everyone just stared at us.

"What? He's fun to talk to. Plus he has an awesome PHS." Yuffie said defensively. I just gave her a weird look. To be hoesnt, I didn't really mind her being there, I kinda' liked it. So I didn't bother to shake her off.

"Right, that takes care of those two." Red said.

"Okay, now for the rest of the group." I said as I looked at everyone else.

"How about Barret and Red?" Aeris asked.

"Sounds good to me, jus' as long as I don't have to carry his ass again." Barret said. Red just sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, that leaves just Tifa and Aeris." I said as I looked at the two.

"Right." Tifa said.

"Leave it to us, we'll get in." Aeris said.

"Okay, that jus' leaves us with the breaking in part." Barret said.

"I just figured we could wing it." I said. The whole group gave me a weird look.

"What? You're lucky I was even able to think this far ahead." I said.

"Awright, let's split up. I'll see you all on the boat!" Barret said before he took off.

"This is going to be fun." Red said with sarcasm before taking off after him. The four of us just stood there in silence for a bit.

"Oh, here's your hoody back Boto." Tifa said as she took off my hoody and handed it to me. IT was clean.

"Thanks." I said as I tied it around my waist.

"Oh, also, here." She said as she handed me the stun rod.

"Oh crap, I almost forgot about that." I said as I grabbed.

"Yeah, we found it on the beach shortly after we dragged you out from the water. I don't know if it works or not." Tifa said. I extended it and tried to see if it would still work. It did.

"Awesome, it still works!." I said as I put it away.

"Boto! I have an idea, follow me!" Yuffie shouted before dragging me along to the nearest building. She let go of my arm and began to climb it.

"Come on! We can take the roof tops to get to the boat!" She shouted excitedly. I just shrugged and followed her. When we made it to the top we saw that guards were already patrolling the area on top.

"Snipers." I said quietly. Bot of us stayed low as we crept along the roofs

"What's up the snipers?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, the President is going to be passing through out in the open. They are going to want as much protection as possible for him." I said as we crept along.

We decided to head back down and go through the buildings sine the roof tops were crawling with snipers. Luckily, the buildings were so close together that we could just climb through the window and into the other to get to the next building.

The guards in the buildings were much more easier to sneak past. The were to relaxed, it seemed like they weren't even expecting someone to try and assassinate the president. Which, lucky for them, no one was trying to.

The rooms were your basic bedrooms and shops on the top floors. Since the parade was going on they were emptied of all citizens.

"Hey, look at that soldier." One of the guards said.

"Huh?" Another one said.

"That one in the back row right over there." The guard said while pointing out th window.

"Ha, he can't even stay in line properly. What an idiot." The guard said while laughing.

Poor Cloud, the idiot can never catch a break.

After a while of sneaking past the guards we ran into a room where they were keeping spare uniforms.

"Okay, here's the plan, we take some uniforms and just walk casually onto the ship. Sound good?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me." Yuffie said as she ran ahead of me to the room.

"Okay, I'll keep watch while you pick a uniform to wear." I told Yuffie as she entered the room.

"No peeking!" She said before she closed the door.

"Don't plan on it." I mumbled as I kept watch. It was about five minuets later when Yuffie came barging through the door wearing a sailors uniform.

" So, what do you think!" She asked excitedly as she twirled around in the uniform.

"Cute." I said as I examined her. She looked at me and pouted.

"Cute! That's it! No 'beautiful'! No 'stunning'! No 'angel that fell from the sky'!" She said as she waved her arms around. I just laughed.

"Nope, now it's my turn to get a uniform." I said bluntly as I walked into the room and closed the door. O looked around for a uniform that would fit me. Fortunately, I was able to find an infantryman's uniform. I changed and put the layers of clothes on.

"Holy crap! These guys wear a carp ton of clothes." I said as I put on the helmet. The rest of my clothes I just shoved into my satchel. I hung Punisher on my back and walked out.

"So, what do you think?" I asked as I walked out the door. Yuffie looked me up and down before she responded.

"Yup, you look like a dog of the military." She said bluntly.

"Oorah. Let's roll." I said as I began to make my way down the stairs.

"Oorah? What does that even mean?" She asked as she followed me.

"It's a term the marines use." I said.

"But were navy! Not marines!" She shouted. I just shrugged my shoulders. This wasn't Earth so I could use whatever term I felt like using.

As we made our way down the steps we noticed that everyone was clearing out of the building now. The parade was over and now was our chance to sneak onto the ship.

"Okay, just follow the crowd."I told Yuffie silently.

"Hey, I know what I'm doing. They don't call me the The Great Yuffie Kisaragi for nothing." She said with a grin.

Both of us just fell into the crowd of soldiers and sailors boarding the ship. After a bit of walked Yuffie grabbed onto my arm. I looked down at her.

"It's so we don't get separated!" She quickly said while blushing a little bit. She then turned her head away, looking in the opposite direction of me.

"I didn't say anything." I said with a grin.

"Hmph." She pouted as we continued to walk. Luckily, no one noticed Yuffie clinging to my arm. Otherwise it would have been flat out awkward to have to explain to someone as to why someone from the navy was clinging to an infantryman. When we finally boarded the ship we had to follow the crowd to what looked like a mess hall. I heard Yuffie groan.

"What?" I asked.

"Did I mention that I get a tad bit of motion sickness." Yuffie said. She was already starting to look green.

Oh man, I could totally get revenge on her for that crap the pulled yesterday at the beach. Meh, I'll think about it once we get to the cargo bay.

We continued walking through the mess hall and through some double doors.

Man, this ship is a lot bigger than the game lets on.

"Wait, what's that?" I pointed to a door that said 'Armory' on it. Yuffie still wasn't looking all to well and just stayed silent as she clung to my arm. We quickly moved to the armory. I opened the doors to find a crap ton of weapons and ammo in it.

"Jack pot!" I shouted as I did a fist pump.

"You go ahead and stock up on ammo, I'm just going to stay back here for a bit." Yuffie said, looking like she was about to keel over.

"Yuffie, the ship hasn't even begun to move yet." I said.

"It hasn't!" Yuffie shouted out in despair. She leaned against a wall and slowly slid down it groaning.

I decided to have a little fun and sort through the ammo.

"Okay, first things first, I must feed Punisher, then I can feed her babies, I mean hand guns... Nah, I mean babies." I said with a grin. I placed Punisher down and began to look around.

It turns out the the main gun on Punisher took about five hundred rounds. Luckily, I was able to fully stock her. Next the hand guns. Each one was able to hold up to sixteen bullets so they were easy to stock. Finally, last but not least, the rocket launcher. It only held one rocket so it was really easy to stock. I was also able to upgrade on my bangles. I could now hold up to four materia in it.

"Okay, I think that's everything." I said as I was about to walk back to Yuffie. As I was turning around I noticed a blue orb out of the corner of my eye.

"Materia? Sweet, I'm taking it." I said as I walked over to it, there was six of them. When I picked it up I realized that it wasn't materia. I examined it a bit more and saw that it had on orange patch on it with a small button.

"Huh, I don't remember anything like this in the game..." I said as I trailed off. I was about to press the button when I heard a voice from the front of the room.

"Yuffie! There you are. Where's Boto?" It was Barret.

"Yo!" I shouted from the back of the room. I quickly grabbed the blue orbs and pocketed them. I walked to the front and saw that Red was with Barret. Red looked ridiculous walking around in a sailors uniform and Barret looked like Popeye. I laughed a little as I walked up.

"What's wrong with Yuffie?" Red asked.

"Motion sickness." I said as I walked up to them. I saw an evil grin appear on Barret's face.

"Really? Well, I think I'm gonna go to the mess hall an get some eggs." Barret said with a grin.

"Eggs?" Yuffie said sickly as she put her head up.

"That's right, some good ol' eggs. Ya know the kind, sunny side up, runny yolk, just dribbles all over the place when ya take a bite." Barret said with a wider grin.

"Ughhh. Barret, please stop." Yuffie said looking like she was about to throw up.

"Mmm mmm! I can't wait to get some!" Barret then licked his lips and made a really loud slurping noise.

That seemed to set Yuffie off. She instantly sat up. She covered her mouth and ran out of sight. The only thing we could hear after that is Yuffie gagging. Barret just started to laugh.

"That was mean." I said as I gave Barret a grin and the thumbs up.

Pay back.

"Okay, enough fooling around. We should head to the main deck. Boto, you should stay with Yuffie until she finishes her... Sickness."Red said as he tried to balance himself.

"Right. Oh, Barret, you should stock up on ammo since we are here." I said as I pointed to the ammo piles.

"Oh, I almos' forgot." He said as he quickly ran over to the ammo piles.

"Aw come on Yuffie! It's all over the ammo!" Barret shouted.

"It's what you deserve!" Yuffie shouted. Barret quickly stocked up on ammo and came back.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm using puke infested ammo." Barret grumbled as he walked by.

"I'm so glad I stocked up before hand." I said as Barret and Red left.

Yuffie slowly stumbled over to me. She didn't look good at all. I walked over to her and she once again, clung to my arm. She was leaning on me to help her walk.

"I'm going to kill Barret." She said weakly.

"I know you are Yuffie. Now come on, let's head over to the cargo bay." I said as we began to walk. Suddenly I felt the ship shake a little and then move.

"Looks like we are leaving now." I said to Yuffie. Her fave turned even greener.

"Ughhhhh." She groaned. We kept walking down the halls, avoiding the mess hall trying to find our way to the lower deck.

"Hey, what's wrong with her?" One of the sailors walked up to us giving us a weird look.

"Oh, uh, she's sick." I said, trying to think of something.

"Sea sick?" The guy asked.

"No, she, uh, had some of the mess halls eggs. Trust me, you don't want to eat them." I said quickly.

"Ughhhh, don't mention the E word." Yuffie said very sickly. The sailor gave us a look of terror.

"B-but I just had some of the eggs. Oh man, I think I'm gonna be sick too." He said, his face already starting to turn green. He then quickly ran off.

"Huh, I guess the mind can really have that huge of an effect on people. I didn't even know that they had eggs on this ship." I said as I began to escort Yuffie again.

After walking aimlessly around and stopping for Yuffie to be sick a few times we finally made it to the cargo bay.

"Okay, Yuffie, I'm going to leave you here for now. Think you can mange on your own?" I said as I sat her up against a crate.

"I'll be okay for now." She said very slowly.

"Okay, I'm going to find everyone else." I sad as I began to walk away. Before I left her, I quickly picked up the all materia that was hiding in the corner. I then walked around. The first person that I noticed down there was Aeris. She was dressed as an infantryman as well.

"Soldier!" I shouted at her. She jumped and turned to face me as fast as she could. She did her best attempt at a salute.

"Yes sir!" She said loudly and a bit of trembling in her voice. I just started to laugh.

"Calm down Aeris, it's me, Boto." I said with a gin. She relaxed, then walked up to me and punched me in the arm.

"Don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack thinking that I was found out!" She said as she continued to punch my arm. I just laughed some more.

"Where's Cloud at?" I asked when she was done hitting me.

"He went to the upper deck to find Barret." She said as she pointed to the stairs.

"Alright, I'm gonna head up there as well. Yuffie is over there trying to not have motion sickness." I said as I pointed to Yuffie. Aeris just giggled.

I booked it up the stairs. When I made it to the top I saw that it wasn't even noon yet. I looked around and saw Tifa on a platform patrolling the area. I walked around a bit more and saw that Cloud was talking to Barret. Red was trying to go nu-noticed as he stumbled around on his hind legs.

Suddenly a siren began to go off.

"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" The alarm said loudly.

"Sephiroth." I said silently.

"Boto!" Cloud said as he and Barret jogged over to me.

"Yo." I said as I waved to him.

"Good, you weren't caught. I'm going to assume that Yuffie wasn't either" He said as he looked around.

"Yeah, she's fine. She in the cargo bay. Come on, let's head this way." I said as I pointed to the center of the deck.

When we got there Tifa and Red were already waiting and Aeris was escorting Yuffie to the spot.

"Everyone all right!" Tifa asked looking really worried.

"You all right!" Barret asked back.

"Huh?" Aeris asked looking confused. Yuffie was looking a little better now.

Aeris must have given her a tranquilizer.

"Everyone's here... right?" Tifa asked while looking around.

"Yup, I don't think that they were talking about us." I said.

"Hey, wait. You don't think that suspicious character is... Sephiroth!" Barret shouted.

"Really!" Tifa shouted out in disbelief

"How the Hell am I supposed to know!" Barret snapped back.

"Let's fins out." Cloud said with a dark look on his face.

"It's the most logical thing to do. Then, who's going to go?" Red asked looking at the group.

"All of us, you don't expect just three people to take on Sephiroth do you?" I said looking back at Red. He seemed to mull it over for a bit before nodding his head in agreement.

"Okay, let's get out of these uniforms. I can't stand wearing it anymore." Tifa said as she took off her helmet. Everyone went to go change out of the uniforms. When we were done we met back in the center of the ship.

"Sephiroth... All right, let's go!" Cloud said as he readied his swords. I Pulled Punisher out. When everyone was ready we left for the cargo bay again.

On our way to the engine room we saw dead or dying people strewn all over the place. Aeris gasped and covered her mouth. Cloud ran up to one of the soldiers that was lying on the ground. He was still alive. Cloud began to speak to him.

"This is terrible." Tifa said as she looked around the room.

"Yeah, it's lik-" Barret began to speak but suddenly I couldn't hear him anymore. I couldn't hear anything any more. I looked at him, his lips were moving but no words came out. Tifa spoke next, same thing, lips moving but no words.

"My child." Jenova's voice echoed in my head again. I stood still.

"My child, why do you come to fight against your mother? You know you cannot win." She said soothingly.

"If this was a losing battle then why would I be here?" O said silently.

"True. But I am not worried about this battle. No, I'm talking about the one for your mind." She said.

"What the Hell did you do to me." I said, clenching my hand into a fist.

"I put a piece of me into your mind. As I have stated before, you are now mine, my child." She said.

My eyes widened at her words.

"You know that I cannot allow you to travel with this group. I was angered when I learned that you were still with them." She said. I said nothing.

"My child." Her voice rang soothingly again. "You can redeem yourself. Those blue orbs, use it on the people around you." She said soothingly. I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the blue orbs. My eyes widened in realization as to what it was.

"You mean this is..." I trailed off.

"Yes, use it on them. Just do as I say and all will be forgiven. If not, then you will be punished." She said. I shook my head.

"No." I said out loud.

"Then you will be punished." She said, her voice fading away at those words.

"-oto! Boto!" Tifa was shouting my name.

"Huh? What?" I said as I looked around the room. Everyone was staring at me giving me a worried look.

"Is everything okay? Who did what to you?. Who were you talking to? What's that materia your holding?" Tifa asked a million and one questions in a worried tone. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to focus my self. I let the breath out and opened my eyes again.

"I'm fine, just talking to my self." I said, trying to sound reassuring.

"The Hell you were!" Barret said.

"Look, I'm fine. I'm just a bit nervous before the fight is all." I said looking at everyone.

"Think you're still up for the fight?" Cloud asked me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I'm good to go." I said reassuringly.

'Then we have no problems." Cloud said as he walked over to the door. Everyone else didn't seem to convinced but they went along with it anyways.

"Are you sure you are fine?" Aeris asked me before we went into the engine room.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." I said with a soft smile. She gave me a worried look. She wasn't buying it.

"Let's go." Cloud ordered as he opened the door. When we walked in there was a man standing there, his back turned to us.

"Is it... Sephiroth?" Cloud asked cautiously. The man turned turned around and fell over, dead. He was a captain.

"No... Not Sephiroth." Cloud said as he began to walk froward.

"After a long sleep..." A voice said from nowhere. Everyone began to look around the room. I just stared straight ahead.

"The time... time has... come..." The voice said again.

"Look, Cloud! Aeris said as she pointed to the middle of the room. Everyone looked to where Aeris was pointing.

"Sephiroth! You're alive!" Cloud shouted out in anger.

"Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, examining him.

"You don't remember me! I'm Cloud!" Cloud shouted while sweeping his arm in front of him.

"Cloud..." Sephiroth said, trying to remember him.

"Sephiroth! What are you thinking! What are you doing!" Cloud shouted.

"The time... is now..." Sephiroth said as he began to float in the air.

"What are you saying! Be more-"He was cut off. Sephiroth flew at us. I braced my self for the impact, using Punisher as a to block him. Everyone was knocked down except for me. Since I was the only one anticipating it I was able to stand my ground.

"Is everyone alright!" I shouted. Everyone quickly got back onto their feet. Before anyone could respond, something fell from the ceiling. It was the arm of Jenova.

"Get ready!" Cloud shouted. I pulled the trigger on Punisher and opened fire on Jenova. I quickly started running to the right. Everyone began to scatter. Barret ran to the left and began to open fire. She was a bit shaky, but Yuffie was able to land a few blows with her shuriken from the back with Aeris, who looked like she was trying cast. Tifa and Cloud rush right into the front of it to attack while Red ran around back.

While Red was running he was hit by Jenova and Red slammed right into me. Both of us hit the wall. We scrambled around for a bit before we got back up. I saw that Tifa was already using her limit break, beat rush, while Cloud was trying to dodge it tail.

I pulled out the all materia that I had found earlier.

"Aeris! Catch!" I shouted to her as I tossed it to Aeris. She caught it and put it into her bangle. She nodded and used her restore materia. All of us were being healed now.

Red quickly ran up to Jenova and took a bit into it. I opened fire again. The bullets dug into it but they didn't have much of an effect.

Cloud was tossed back against the wall and Red was thrown off. I pulled out one of the blue orbs.

"Tifa! Get back!" I yelled. She quickly jumped back. I pressed and held the orange button on the blue orb and a blue looking flame engulfed it.

"Plasma grenade!" I shouted as I threw it. I sailed through the air and landed on the side of Jenova. After a few seconds it exploded.

Jenova let out a roar of pain and focused it attention on me. It readied it's tail and shot a laser out from it. I was able to barely avoid getting hit by diving out of the way. Seconds later Cloud jumped up into the air and dove his buster sword right into the top of Jenova Birth. It let out a loud scream and went silent. Cloud jumped off of it as it began to dissolve into an arm. Everyone quickly surrounded the arm.

"I've seen this somewhere before." Tifa said. Cloud bent over to get a better look at it.

"Jenova. The arm of Jenova." He said as he examined it.

"Jenova... With this thing?" Aeris said as she stared it it. The arm quickly dissolved.

"Now that's jus' creepy." Barret said as he bent over next to Cloud.

"So it was Sephiroth." Cloud said as he stood up.

"Frig man, it's just crazy." I said as I knelt down to pick up the Ifirit Summon Materia..

"He said something about it being time for something." Red said as he backed away.

"Very descriptive Red." Yuffie said looking sick again.

"Hmmmm... I don't get it. Hey, Cloud. Can you explain it to us?" Aeris asked, looking puzzled. Cloud then went on to explain how Sephiroth was looking for the promise land.

"Dock workers. We will be docking in Costa Del Sol in about five minuets. Prepare for docking." A voice said over the intercom.

"Come on, we better get out of here before they see us. They might think that we killed all these people." I said as I began to leave to room. Everyone followed except for Cloud. He stayed behind for a few minuets before leaving.

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><p><em>AN: Chapter twelve is done! I'm still new to writing so sorry if the battles are lame. I'm still not that good and writing them. Other then that I hope you enjoyed it. I hope the plasma grenades were a surprise. Thanks for all the reviews so far and I hope to get more! Remember, suggestions are greatly welcomed! See you in Costa Del Sol!_


	13. Chapter 13: Punishment

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did I would have toured all the major league baseball stadiums with them. And I don't even like baseball.**_

_A/N: Alright everyone, I would like to make a couple of announcements. First, I don't know if I will be able to update twice a week like I have been doing so far. College has started back up and my brother is nice enough to let me use his car to go back and forth since my is dead, isn't he nice. So, I will be busy, I will be updating still, once a week at the least, which is also why this one is late. Second, I would like to thank Mzr90 for giving me an awesome idea that will help the story big time! It's not exactly what you suggested is but it's along the lines of it. I was serious when I said I'm open to suggestions. Thank you to all the people who have favored and or put this on their alert. I would love to here what you guys have to say though. Don't be afraid, I don't bite. That's Crappy's job, he's the one legged lawn gnome, he bites. Speaking of which, he's in my apartment again. Read the next chapter while I go to deal with him._

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><p>Chapter Thirteen: Punishment<p>

"Damn! Sure is hot here!" Barret said one we finally docked. We had hid and waited for the guards and personnel to leave the ship before we came tried to leave the ship.

"I like the heat." I said as I stretched my arms. I tired to act happy. Jenova's words were still ringing in my head. I really didn't want to know what the punishment was going to be. So I tried to keep my mind off of it.

"Shut up Boto." Barret said as he looked around. I just glared at him.

"But I do feel better now that I can say good-bye to that sailor suit. Yo listen up! Y'all remember to mingle like regular folks here!" Barret shouted.

"Barret, you're telling us to be regular when you're the one with the gun for an arm?" I asked him with a grin. It was his turn to glare at me now.

"I'm gonna shoot you with this gun arm if you don't shut your mouth." Barret said as he lifted up his gun arm.

"Okay, just calm down Barret. I think the heat is starting to get to you." Aeris said as she tried to sound calm and relaxing.

"Hmph, whatever." Barret said. Red walked up to us and started making weird breathing noises.

"Would you kindly hurry? The heat is drying out my nose." He said as he he tried to lick his nose.

"All right, we'll take a break here and then head off. Don't wonder too far off." Cloud said looking at the group.

"I'll wander where ever I damn well want! Who made him the leader?" Barret said as he started walking off.

"We did when we voted for him!" I shouted at Barret.

"Shut up!" He shouted back at me, then stormed off. I just started to laugh.

"I'm going to rest somewhere cool." Red said before he ran off.

"I'm off to get some gil!" Yuffie shouted before running off as well, she looked happy to get off the ship.

"I think I'll go for a swim." Tifa said as she walked off the ship.

"I'll just take a stroll on the beach." Aeris said as she followed.

"I think I'll just wonder around for a little while." I said as I began to leave.

"Wait, Boto." Cloud said. I turned around.

"Yo?" I asked.

"Before you go, what kind of grenades were those that you used? I've never heard of a plasma grenade." He said, pointing to my pockets.

Okay, this time I don't have to make something up so it won't be so awkward.

"I found them in the ammunition storage thing on the ship. There wasn't many so I just grabbed all of them." I said as I pulled one out.

"Huh, that's interesting." He said as he reached out and grabbed it.

"It's a sticky grenade so be careful. When you press the button on it, hold it down before you throw it."

"Wait, if you just found this on the ship, how do you know what it is and how to use it?" He asked giving me a weird look.

"I heard some huys talking about them on the ship. Also, I don't want to take any chances of that thing sticking to my hand. So I'm going to hold down that button before I throw it." I said as I pointed at the plasma grenade. Cloud just nodded his head.

Actually, I'm not lying about that. I really don't want to take any chances of that thing getting stuck on my hand. I could easily just throw my glove off but I don't want to lose it.

"Alright then, I will see you later." I said as I felt the ship. Cloud followed shortly after.

I walked around town enjoying the sights. There was lots and lots of sand. I actually like sand, a lot.

"Huh, Costa Del Sol. I wonder if this is a Spanish speaking place." I walked up to someone who looked like a local.

"Hola! Mi amigo! Como esta?" I said. The guy just gave me a weird look.

I know my Spanish isn't the best, I blame my mom for not teaching, but still, it should be enough to have some small talk. Even if I do use some of the words wrong. I can't remember is it's esta or estas.

"I'm sorry but what did you just say?" He asked giving me a weird look still.

"Tu hablo espanol?" I asked as I tilted my head.

"Er, yeah, I'm just going to go that way." The guy pointed in another direction and quickly ran.

"Huh, I guess he didn't speak Spanish... or maybe it's Costa Del Solian here... I'm going to test this out a bit more." I walked off in the same direction the guy went. I walked up to random people and tried speaking, to the best that I could, Spanish to them. People just kept looking at me weird or say that they had no idea what I was even saying.

"That's just weird, people in Final Fantasy 7 know English and Japanese but not Spanish. I wonder what other languages they know and don't know..." I said as I trail off. After a bit of walking around I decided to see how much gil I had on me. I pulled it out and counted.

"Not much, only five hundred gil. I need to find a way to make more gil." I walked around looking for a place that would hire someone for the day. The only place I was able to find was the bar. I stared at the sign for a bit.

"Help Wanted." I read the sign out loud to my self. I shrugged and walked in. The bar didn't seem that busy. I walked up to the counter and bent forward, leaning against the counter. The bartender walked up to me.

"What can I get for you?" He asked as he pulled some glasses out.

"A job." I said bluntly.

"Ah, hold on a sec. Let me get the boss. He said as he turned around and began to walk away. He instantly turned back around and walked over to me.

"Hi, my name is Rick." He held out his hand. I reached out and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Robert, though everyone calls me Boto." I said. After we shook hands he went straight to business.

"Now tell me, why should I hire you?" He asked me as he leaned forward.

"Well, I have experience in fast food and treating customers properly. I know how to get the job done and I'm a diligent worker. Also, it's just for today." I said.

Man, if this guy knew half the things that I did at my old job I don't think he would hire me. Though the customers did enjoy the time me and the other guy working the grill spoke to each other

using pirate accents. Or when I sung cheesy songs about Dairy Queen in the drive though, they enjoyed that as well.

"Just for the day. Huh." He said as he narrowed his eyes. I stared directly into his.

Come on Robert, remember how to do an interview, don't play with your hands and focus on him.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Nineteen." I said.

"Hm, still a minor." He said as he mulled it over some more. I just smiled and continued to focus on him. He then grinned and held out his hand.

"Welcome aboard." He said happily. I did an inward sigh of relief as I shook his hand.

He showed me the ropes of th place, it was fairly easy. The most I had to do was just serve drinks and clean tables. It was the easiest job on the entire planet.

Then there was this red headed girl who kept buying a lot of drinks, every time I served them to her she left me a huge tip and winked at me. At first I didn't really care because I was getting huge tips, then she tried to "flirt" with me, as the young people would say.

"You know, you're pretty cute." She said. She was incredibly drunk.

"And your pretty drunk." I said with a smile, trying to walk away.

"You mean it! You think I'm pretty!" She shouted out.

Aw crap! What do I do now!

"Uhhhh..." Was the only thing I could thing of saying. I tried to walk back behind the counter but she quickly wrapped her arm around my neck and held me in my spot.

"Hey everyone! This guy thinks I'm pretty!" She shouted out. The smell of alcohol was heavy on her.

Luckily, no one really seemed to care.

"Uh, I need to get back to work." I was able to gasp out.

"Work! Why don't you come with me to the beach." She said with an incredibly noticeable slur.

"Tell you what, you go on ahead. I'll meet you down there." I said as I tired to break free. She let me go and started stumbling to the door. Before she left she turned around and blew me a kiss.

"See you there." She said as shes stumble out the door. I think she even tripped.

"Heh heh heh, now you're society's problem." I said as soon as she was gone. I turned around and jumped. Cloud and Aeris weer sitting at the counter. Cloud was giving me a weird look and Aeris was giggling. I walked up to them.

"Please tell me you didn't just see that." I said nervously as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Looks like you know how to charm the girls." Aeris said jokingly as she continued to giggle. Cloud just shook his head.

"Ha ha, just laugh at the poor Mexican why don't ch'ya." I mumbled.

"What was that?" Cloud asked.

"Huh, oh, nothing. Can I get you guys anything?" I asked.

"Nope, we're just traveling around town, looking to see where everyone is at. Then we are going to get an inn for the night." Aeris said happily. Cloud nodded.

"Yes! Another carpet to sleep on!" I said as I did a fist pump.

"This is so exciting! I've never seen the ocean before. It's so blue, like the sky." Aeris said as she looked out the window.

Oh yeah, Aeris used to be afraid of the sky.

"Really? You've never seen the ocean?" Cloud asked. Aeris shook her head.

"I always thought that it would be scary like the sky. But after meeting someone, the sky didn't seem so scary. Now seeing the ocean, it doesn't seem scary at all." She said with a light smile.

"Well, that's good to hear. If you don't mind me, I need to get back to work." I said.

"Aw, but I thought all of us could go swimming." Aeris protested.

"Sorry Aeris, but I've got to get back to work. Gil doesn't earn it's self! Though if it did..." I trailed off.

"Okay, well you tale care Boto. We're going to head down to the beach to see what Tifa is doing." Cloud said before both of them waled off.

"Oh yeah, Tojo is at the beach. That's the last guy I want to run into. He creeps me out and plus he would probably say a bunch of big words that point out how dumb I am. Then he would make me feel dumber then I already am... I'm depressed now.

I turned around and went back to work. After Cloud and Aeris left it started to get pretty busy. Rick and I had to stay on our toes the entire time.

"Boto! You're working here!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yes, I am Yuffie. Now is not a good time to talk." I said as I carried a huge tray of drinks out.

"I just got fired from my job!" Yuffie shouted out ash she followed me. Completely ignoring what I just said.

"Why is that?" I asked. I figured that there was going to be no arguing with her right no.

"He accused me of stealing from him! Can you believe that!" She shouted, almost hitting a guy in the face as she waved her arms around like a bird.

"Why would he do that?" I decided to play along, see where it would end up.

"Look, I don't know where his missing materia went and I don't know where this materia in my bag came from. But that's not the point! The point is he accused me of stealing! Me! Cute, innocent, perfect me! I'm the most trust worthy person I know!" She ranted.

"Fascinating" I said, trying to sound like Spock from Star Trek.

"Give me that." She said as she quickly wiped a bottle from my hand. I was taking more out to a table. She opened it up and tried to drink it.

"Hey hey hey, what are you doing!" I said as I pulled the bottle away from her.

"What! I'm seventeen, I'm almost of age. Besides, you have me covered right?" She asked, trying to use innocent eyes on me.

"First of all, no, second, no, and finally, no." I said as I brought the bottles to the table.

"Awww come one! It's not like one drink is going to hurt!" She whined.

"I'm not losing my job over this, I need the gil. Besides, you're underage." I said as I walked around cleaning up tables. She stomped her foot on the ground.

"You're such a kill joy!" She pouted.

"Indeed I am, Indeed I am." I said proudly.

"Hmph!" She said before she left. A few moments later Tifa walked into the bar, looking madder then ever. A guy, looking drunker then ever, walked up behind Tifa.

"Hey there hot stuff. Wan-" Before he could finish, Tifa punched him square in the face. The man then fell over, it was a one hit K.O.

I flinched at the sight of it and quickly jumped over the counter. I hid behind, trying to hide from Tifa.

"Hey, why are you hiding behind here?" Rick asked.

"You see that woman in the white shirt and black skirt." I pointed to Tifa.

"Yeah, she looks really mad about something." Rick said, starting to look a bit nervous.

"Yeah, well I know her. When she gets mad, she really mad. The last time I remember her getting mad, she beat the ever loving crap out of me. So I'm just ducking out for now. If she asks for, tell her I'm not here." I said, trying to be silent.

"Why would she ask for you?" He asked.

"I don't know but I'm not taking any chances." I said quickly. Moments later Tifa walked up to the counter.

"Wh-what can I get for you miss?" Rick said nervously.

"Yes, have you seen a tall guy, tanned skin, shaggy back hair, looks Wutainese? His name is Boto. I'm looking for him." Tifa said politely. Rick grabbed me by the back of my shirt and pulled me up.

"You mean him? He's right here." He said quickly.

Friggin sell out!

I looked stared at Tifa. She was putting on a smile put you could see the anger in her eyes. She crossed her arms and started tapping her foot.

"Oh hey Tifa. I was just... doing stuff down there right now. Yeah, As you can see, were pretty busy right now so I will have to talk to you later." I said nervously as I rubbed the back of my head.

"I think now would be a good time for you to go on a break." Tifa said in a tone saying, 'This isn't a request, it's a demand.

"Sure! I have this place covered!" Rick said as he quickly pushed me over the counted. I fell over it and landed on my back.

"Good." Tifa said as she grabbed my wrist and started dragging me.

"I will haunt your dreams Rick!" I shouted as Tifa dragged me out the door.

"Can you let me go now." I said after Tifa dragged me away from the bar.

"No, chances are you're going to try and run." Tifa said bluntly.

Dang, she saw right through my plan.

"Why do you need to talk to me?" I asked.

"It's not just me, it's Cloud and Aeris as well." She said as she continued to drag me.

Aw crap, what happened now.

After a while of dragging me we finally made it to the inn there. She let me go and I hit the ground.

"You didn't have to drag him." Cloud said as he watched me stand back up.

"No, I had a feeling I did." Tifa said as she crossed her arms.

"He can walk on his own. Also, dragging him through the streets looks pretty painful." Aeris said.

"He's fine, plus if I didn't drag him he would have ran off." Tifa said as she started to get impatient.

I stood there watching the three argue about over if it was appropriate for Tifa to drag me or not. I lifted up my arm to look at the watch in my wrist. After staring at it blankly for a few seconds I realized that I did not have a watch on said wrist. I slowly put my arm down.

"I think I'm gonna go buy a watch." I said as I watched them argue still. I stood there few a bit before shrugging and walking off.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!" Tifa shouted at me. I froze and slowly walked back.

"I was going to... Buy... A watch." I said slowly. Everyone just stared at me.

"Okay, we need to ask you something." Cloud said finally breaking the silence.

"And that is...?" I trailed off.

"Did you run into Sephiroth while you were in the Shinra HQ?" Cloud asked. I gave them a weird look for a moment before.

"What?" I asked.

"Look, just answer the question." Cloud said, sounding a bit more serious.

"Yeah, I did." I said finally. Everyone look at me with a surprised look on their faces.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Aeris asked giving me a worried look.

"I didn't think it was that important." I said, looking back at them.

"It is. How did you survive the run in with him when he was killing everyone he saw." Cloud said.

"Wait, why does it matter?" I asked.

"Well, we saw man named Hojo on the beach, with the science department of Shinra." Tifa said, looking a bit worried now.

I was about to say that I knew that But I then remembered, I wasn't supposed to know who Hojo was since I never ran into him.

"He said that on a surveillance camera you ran into him. He said that he was carrying Jenova and that she was pointing at you. After that the footage just goes to static. What happened after that?" Cloud asked.

"I just ran. There was no way I could have fought him. I was able to out run him using the materia I got before went to the Shinra building." I said, telling the honest truth.

"How did you know to go to the Shinra HQ?" Cloud asked.

Aw crap, that part I didn't think of.

"I saw the Shinra helicopter and Aeris being in it. Tifa sounded worried when she saw her in it so I figured that you guys would go after her. The only other place I could thing of going to was the Shinra HQ. Looks like I was right." I said hoping that they would buy it. Everyone just stared at me for a bit before someone spoke.

"It sounds good to me." Aeris finally said.

"I agree." Tifa said. Cloud nodded his head. I gave in inward sigh of relief. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

"What was up with all the questions?" I finally asked.

"Well, Hojo was trying to convince us that you were probably working with Sephiroth. He was saying that that was the only way you could have survived, and why Jenova was pointing at you." Cloud said.

"Look, I don't know why she was pointing at me. I also don't know this Hojo guy but by the sounds of it, he's not to be trusted." I said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Sorry for doubting you." Aeris said.

"It's all right, I would have done the same thing. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to find some food while I'm still on my break." I said as I quickly ran off.

I was able to find something quick to eat before returning to work. When I got back everything had slowed down and stayed that way. Rick let me go at about eleven o'clock at night. He gave me my pay , it was about 3,000 gil. He said I was welcome to work for him any time I needed some gil. I thanked him and went back to the inn.

When I made it back to the inn, everyone had already gone to bed. There were two rooms open, the guys took one while the girls took the other. I walked around trying to find the right one. It took a few opening of random doors but I was able to find the one where the guys were sleeping. There were only two beds and they were already taken. I plopped down on the floor, trying to be quiet.

I didn't want to fall asleep. The last time I ran into Jenova, she entered my dream. After telling me that there was going to be a punishment for not obeying her, I didn't want to try it. Sadly, sleep soon fell upon me.

I was standing in the middle of an open field. Everything seemed normal about it, the only problem was, the sky was blood red. Everything about the place felt unsettling.

I looked around, the field just seemed endless, no one else was there with me.

"My child." Came a voice, it was Jenovas. This time, it didn't echo in my head, it echoed all around me.

"I have warned you." She said. I stood there in silence.

"Now you must face you're punishment." The voice came from right behind me. I turned around and saw Jenova, standing there. only, she wasn't purple looking and deformed. Instead, she looked human. She had long brown hair, it was flowing even though there was no wind. She was wearing a long black dress, and had pale skin. Her eyes were green.

I stepped back from her. She just stuck her hand out at me. She then pointed at my head.

Suddenly it felt like hundreds of glass shards were being driven into my skull. I instantly fell to my knees. The pain was unbearable. I felt blood trickling down the center of my forehead. I tired to scream in pain but I couldn't even do that. I was soon lying on the ground, not even able to move from the pain.

I was gasping for air, it was suddenly getting harder to breath. The pain didn't help at all.

I was able to look over at Jenova. She didn't look happy at all. I reached my hand out to her, trying to get her to help me but she did nothing. I felt like I was dying a very slow and painful death. Soon everything went black for me.

I woke up still lying down on the floor in the inn. The pain was still there along with the shortness of breath. I rolled around on the around, grabbing my head. I wasn't able to say anything. I felt something wet on the sides of my head I continued to roll around. I couldn't take the pain. I felt tears coming out of my eyes.

Once again, I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. Slowly the pain started to subside. I had no idea what was going on around me. The only thing I felt was relief when the pain left.

I suddenly felt really light headed, even though I was laying down. I instantly blacked out.

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><p><em>AN: See you in chapter fourteen._


	14. Chapter 14: Nothing Happened

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did, I would have spent all the money from it on a fancy record player.**_

_A/N: Alright everyone! I just wanted to thank acebrainbuster for for giving me the idea for what to do when the group gets to The Gold Saucer. So, yeah, he will be sabotaging the chocobo races. And as for Reishin Amara's question, my theory of Jenova is a bit different but in the long run, yes, that was Jenova in her Cetra form. And just to give you guys something to look forward to, not going to give to much away, but Boto will end up fighting Jenova in her Cetra form. Now then, here is chapter fourteen__._

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><p>Chapter Fourteen: Nothing Happened<p>

My eyes shot open. My head no longer hurt and my breathing was back to normal. I got up and looked around, there was a lot of blood on the ground from where I was just laying. Oddly enough, no one heard me rolling around. Everyone was still asleep.

I quickly went to the restroom to grab something to clean it all up with. I saw that there was a trail of blood coming from my eyes and on the sides of my head were blood. I looked down at my hands, they were covered in blood as well. My shirt was drenched in blood.

Holy crap, I look like some sort of friggin creature that just came out of a nightmare or something. It's a wonder that I didn't die from blood loss. I better clean this crap up fast.

I looked out the window, the sun was just starting to rise. I grabbed a rag and cleaned the blood off the floor. Luckily, it was a wooden floor so it was easy to clean.

Next, I washed my self off in the restroom along with my clothes. Since I didn't have a way to dry them I had to wear a wet shirt.

No problem, I'll just let it dry in the sun.

I grabbed all my stuff, opened up the door and quickly went outside to try and process what the frig just happened last night. I walked quietly out of the inn and into the fresh morning air. As soon as I walked out side I had a mental break down.

"What the Hell was that!" I yelled out loudly. I didn't care if people were watching me or not. I sat down on the ground and hugged my knees. I started shaking violently.

The whole thing took my mind a little bit to process, a delayed reaction I guess you could say.

The image of Jenova kept popping up into my mind. She was beautiful but terrifying at the same time. And what she did to me, I didn't even want to think about that. I sat there for who knows how long. The whole thing just kept playing in my mind over and over again. It was like some sort of broken record player that kept playing that same horrible note over and over again.

That sky, what was up with that sky! Is this what's going to happen every time I disobey her! Maybe I should listen to her. You know what they say, mother knows best right?

"Ha ha, hahahahahahahaha!" I started to laugh, a lot. I don't know why I started to laugh but I couldn't stop. Very soon that laughing turned into uncontrollable sobbing. I started shaking even more.

I had two options at this point, I could either keep going down this path and help out Cloud and the rest. Jenova will get mad at me and probably end up killing me, making to where I could never get home. Or, I could listen to Jenova, kill Cloud and and everyone else and listen to mother like a good little boy. Though there is no guarantee that Jenova was telling the truth when she said that she could bring me home. Plus, I would end up killing someone, which is what I have been trying to avoid this entire time. Though I was pushed past my limits after what happened last night. I didn't know what to choose so I just stat there.

Suddenly my mind started to clear up. Everything didn't seem so bad anymore. The shaking slow subsided and the sobbing just flat out stopped. The sound all around me went silent. Then, I heard a voice in my head.

"My child." Jenova echoed once more. Her voice was once again, soothing.

"My child" She repeated, "I'm still your mother, I still love you my child. I'm willing to give you another chance." Her voice just calmed me down. I felt like I was being wrapped in a warm blanket. Though I refused to say anything to her.

"My child, I will help you grow stronger. Just remember though, the more you disobey, the harsher the punishment. Though that does not mean that I do not love you. You are still mine and I discipline the ones I love." Jenova said. I can't explain it but some how, I felt arms wrap around me and hold me tight even though no one was next to me. It was a warm embrace, though it only lasted a few moments. It then quickly went away. The noises around me slowly grew louder. I sat there in silence for a bit.

I really didn't know what to think at this point. My head was clear but I still didn't know. One thing was for sure, I wasn't going to give into Jenova's demands. I couldn't betray everyone just so I wouldn't get hurt again. Though I couldn't really tell them what was going on either. I mean, what could they do to help me? The only thing that they could do was just worry if I told them and that would only make things worse.

I sat up and started to walk around the town for a bit. The sun was still just starting to rise. and I needed to let my shirt dry. I decided to stock up on some supplies.

I went to buy some phoenix downs finally, luckily, we did not needed to use any so far but they will come in handy. I bought some extra food, mostly dried fruit, and some more chocolate.

It seems that the stuff I bought in Kalm is actually quit popular, so I restocked up on it. I was now up to sixteen bars of chocolate.

Before I went back to the inn I bought another tent, never hurts to have another tent.

I was about to open the door to the inn when it opened on it's own. Quickly some one bumped into me.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Someone quickly said. I looked down and it was Aeris.

"Oh, hey Aeris." I said as she looked up at me.

"Boto! There you are." She said looking kinda' relieved.

"Was everyone looking for me again?" I asked, about to book it out the front door. I was not going to have Tifa smack me in the face again.

Aeris just laughed a little.

"Yes but no one is mad. We just wanted to know where you are. Everyone else is gathering their things. I finished early and decided to come looking for you." Aeris said.

"Okay, I'll go let everyone know that I'm back. I said as I walked past her and headed towards the room.

As I was walking a thought hit me. I turned around and saw that Aeris was looking around the place. She wasn't paying attention to me. I crept to the guys door and pulled out a pistol from Punisher. Luckily, it didn't make to much noise. I set Punisher aside and got as close to the door as I could. I lightly turned the door knob. When it wouldn't turn anymore I quickly kicked the door open.

I put both hands on the pistol and cocked the gun back, ejecting the first bullet and allowing another to enter the chamber. That, was actually really loud.

When I entered the room no one was facing the door. Cloud was looking out the window, Barret was laying down on one of th beds and Red was sniffing the spot that I was laying in.

When I busted in Cloud quickly dove for his Buster Sword and used it as cover. Barret rolled out of bed and started firing his gun arm into the air. Red quickly dove behind one of the beds.

I was about to bust up laughing when suddenly the door behind me busted open. The section of the hallway I was in quickly filled up with smoke. I was then knocked to the ground, landing on my back.

Suddenly I felt a string of punches hitting me all over my torso. I felt a lot of things crack in my ribs.

"Boto! Guys! What are you doing!" Aeris shouted out. Suddenly the punches and gunfire came to a halt. The smoke quickly cleared up.

I saw that Tifa was standing above me, her fist just an inch short of hitting me in the face. Tifa either had a look of horror or anger on her face, I couldn't tell, everything looked hazy.

"Boto!" Tifa shouted out.

"Boto?" Yuffie also shouted out. I couldn't tell where she was.

Tifa backed her fist up.

"Boto!" Barret shout out. At this point I just busted up laughing.

"Oh man, that was totally worth it." I said weakly. It hurt to laugh but I didn't care. Actually, it really helped to get my mind off of what happened that morning.

That's wasn't funny Boto! I could have seriously hurt you!" Tifa shouted out.

"I think you already did! It hurts to laugh!" I said while laughing and clutching my sides.

"What were you thinking Boto!" Cloud said, sound pretty mad.

To be honest, I didn't think it would be taken this far. I only did it because I thought that they would just flinch or something. But holy crap did this exceed my expectations by a long shot.

"I didn't think you guys would react this badly." I said, still laughing. Aeris walked up to me and quickly knelt down by my side.

"Where did you say it hurts?" She asked as she started to press my torso lightly with her hand.

"Everywhere Tifa hit me. Which reminds me, this is the second time Tifa has beaten the ever loving crap out of me." I said with a grin. I had finally stopped laughing.

Aeris pressed against my ribs and I felt pain run through my body.

"Guahhh! Yeah, that hurts." I said.

"You have some broken ribs." Aeris said as she began to pull out a materia.

"Sorry Boto, but until this cure materia grows stronger it won't be able to heal much." She said as she held the materia over me.

"Wait, you mean it won't fully heal me?" I asked confused.

"It has to be stronger in order to heal wounds like this. Since I just bought this yesterday it will only work and some of it.. Now hold still." She said. The materia began to glow. I felt the bones in my body slowly move. It actually hurt. I quickly wadded the sleeve of my hoody into a ball and bit down on it. I felt some bones nap back into place but not all of them. Soon it stopped.

"That's about all I can do for now." Aeris said as she put the materia away and pulled out some bandages.

"Where did you get the first aid stuff" Cloud asked. Everyone was now huddled around us.

"I always carry some around, just in case." She said as she began to unwind the bandages from the roll.

She lifted up my shirt and hoody and began to wind the bandage around my ribs. She rolled it tightly.

"There, that should do it for now. Here, drink a couple of potions." She said as she handed me some.

I quickly chugged them and felt my bones pop back into place. It was the most uncomfortable feeling I have ever felt.

"Boto, next time you do something stupid like, I'm going to let Barret shoot you." Cloud said with anger in his tone.

I just started to laugh again. It hurt but not as badly this time.

"I wasted a smoke bomb on you!" Yuffie shouted.

"I could have seriously hurt you!" Tifa shouted. I just laughed more.

"Thanks guys, you don 't know how much that helped me." I said as I slowly stood up. Everyone just gave me a weird look before sighing,

"All right then, where to next." I said as I clapped my hands once and pointed to the door. It hurt to move like that.

"Right, uh, we're going to be heading to the mountains. We should be hitting a town called Corel." Cloud said as he waled to the front of the group. When Barret heard that name he frowned.

"Okay, lets buy some stuff supplies and head out." I said, pointing to the door.

"Hey, I'm the leader, that's my line." Cloud said as he shot me a dirty look.

"Well excuse me princess." I said waving my hands in the air. I then started laughing again. Everyone just shook their heads and started heading for the door. I followed shortly after.

Surprisingly, the person at the front desk didn't seem to care to much about all the ruckus we made. We just kinda' slipped out of the inn without saying anything though.

We bought some more supplies and left Costa Del Sol. We traveled though the fields and straight towards the mountains.

Along the way I asked Aeris if she could let me use the restore materia on my self. She said it wouldn't work as well as the cure materia but I tired anyways. I'm hard headed like that sometimes. Sadly, she was right. It didn't work out as well as I hoped.

When we started following the path up the mountains it was starting to the middle of the day. We ran into a man sitting on the side of the road, he said that a man wearing black passed him by. That seemed to get Clouds attention. We asked for more information but he just told us to greet travelers on the road. Which was really weird for him to say but I'm not going to complain.

"What's that glow coming from over of the top of the mountain?" Yuffie asked as she ran ahead of the group to point it out.

"That's a mako reactor." Barret said as he folded his arms.

"And we are going to pass tight by it aren't we." I said as I walked up next to Yuffie.

Huh, I wonder if I could take the Huge materia from it early. Wait, crap, I think the front door on it is closed. Besides, I don't think that Barret or anyone else would want to stop inside of it.

"Let's just travel as fast as we can past it." Barret said as he shoved both me and Yuffie out of the way.

"Jeez! What's his problem!" Yuffie shouted. The group followed Barret since he was now leading the way. When Barret reached the top he made a sudden stop. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into him.

'What the-" I said as I backed up. I peered around him and saw the mako reactor. When I saw it my jaw dropped. The mako reactor was crawling with Shinra infantry men. By the looks of it, they even had some third and second class SOLDIERS patrolling the area.

"Son of a- Guaaaah! You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted.

"What?" Cloud said as he walked up. He saw the infantry men and his jaw dropped as well. Soon everyone was staring at the soldier infested reactor.

"Well, we have three options, we can either make a full frontal assault on the reactor, we can try to sneak through it, or we can try to find a completely different route." Cloud said after he gathered the group together.

"Well, the third option is out, it would take to long for us to get around them." Tifa said.

"The first option would be very difficult, guards are all over the place." Aeris said.

"And the second option would also be very difficult because there is barely any cover." I said.

"Well, we could do a combination of the first two, try to sneak as far as we can. If we get caught then we fight and run." Red said. The entire time Barret just stayed quiet.

"Sounds like a good idea, any objections?" Cloud asked. No one said anything against it.

"Okay, let's make our decent. Boto, Yuffie, since you two are good at stealth, both of you go first." Cloud ordered.

"Awesome." I said as I looked at the reactor.

"Leave it to the great Yuffie!" Yuffie said as she pointed to her self.

"Wait, Boto, how's your wound?" Aeris asked. I poked my ribs, it only hurt a little.

"Much better." I said as I gave her the thumbs up. She still didn't look very satisfied.

"Just be careful out there, I don't want anyone getting getting seriously hurt, or worse." She said.

"Don't worry, the rookie's with me! Master Yuffie Kisaragi!" She said proudly.

I'm going to have to start and ego war with this girl. I didn't hang around a self centered person for years on end just so I can not pick up on some of his traits. In fact, I think I'll start now.

"Man Yuffie, I wish I were you sometimes." I said. The whole group gave me a surprised look. Even Yuffie, though she quickly recovered.

"Yeah, I am pretty great, though what reasons do you have to want to be The White Rose?" She asked while thumbing her nose with a huge grin.

"Because then I would get to hang around me all the time. I mean you already know how awesome it is to be around me. I guess I will just have to settle on being awesome me." I said, trying to sound disappointed. Yuffie seem to get mad. She was about to open her mouth to say something but Cloud beat her to it.

"Alright you two, that's enough. We need to move, now." He said as he pointed to the mako reactor. Both Yuffie and I nodded and quickly left.

We were able to make it half way down to the mako reactor. Yuffie and I were going for what little cover we had. Everyone else was following us one at a time. Taking the stairs was obviously a bad idea so we had to travel down the steep slope. Everything was going fine until...

"Aeris look out!" Cloud shouted from behind us. I turned around to find her lose her footing and quickly roll down the slope. I reached out to grab her but I missed, she was going too fast.

"Crap! Aeris!" I shouted. Alarm started going off and a search light pin pointed her location. When she finally came to a stop the guards started moving in on her. She wasn't moving.

"Yuffie! Throw a smoke bomb! Quick! I yelled. She pulled out out and threw it as fast as possible. I then jumped from my cover and slid down the hill. Cloud was right behind me. Soon the rest of the group was making their way down.

I was the first one to reach Aeris, she was knocked out. By the time I got to her a huge cloud of smoke was blocking our view, and theirs as well. I didn't have time to pull out a phoenix down so I quickly picked up Aeris and put her over my shoulder. I then pulled out Punisher, getting ready to fight. Cloud was right behind me now.

"Is she okay?" He asked, sounding incredibly worried.

"Shes' fine, right now we need to move!" I shouted. Soon I heard gun shots. They were coming from Barret, he was sliding down while firing.

"The smokes clearin'! Hurry up and move yo asses!" Barret shouted. Cloud readied his buster sword and soon enough, the smoke cleared. Infantry men were charging at us, guns blazing. I dove to the left while Cloud took cover behind his sword.

"Keep advancing! Don't let up on the suppressive fire!" One of the guards shouted. I ran for cover behind one of the rocks. As soon as I was behind it I opened fire. I wasn't trying to kill any of them, I didn't have it in me to do so. So instead, I aimed for their legs to take them out. It seemed like that's what Barret was trying to do as well.

Cloud and I were the closest to the reactor while the others slowly made their way up. Suddenly I say a flash of lightning and one of the guards fell.

Looks like some one is trying to back us up.

I was able to take out a few before moving up. Cloud was still pinned down but he was able to cast fire. Every now and then I would see a few kunai go flowing, some of them would miss while the others would hit.

All of us were able to slowly make our way to the reactor. When we did, that's when the trouble hit. The third and second class SOLDIERS started moving in to fight. There was only a handful of each but it was going to be difficult. They had mako enhancements.

Tifa was the first one to fight a SOLDIER, it was a third. She was having quite a bit of trouble fighting him. He using one hand to hold a sword his other free hand to fight as well. Cloud was taking on two of the second classes at the same time. Yuffie and Red were having enough trouble taking on just one seconds class. Barret and I tried to hold off the regular infantry men but soon a couple of third classes ganged up on Barret. I had the misfortune of taking on three second classes now. This was not going to be an easy fight, considering the fact that I was still carrying Aeris.

"Come on Aeris, wake up now!" I said as I opened fire on the closest second class. He was very skilled with his sword. He was able to dodge and deflect my bullets.

He quickly charged me and tried to slash at me chest. I was able to beck up but not fast enough. His sword slid across my chest, it wasn't deep but it was still bleeding a lot. It didn't help with the fact the the infantry men kept firing at me still. I ended up taking a bullet to the arm that was holding Aeris. Sadly, I ended up dropping her on the ground. I was able to move it but it hurt like crap. I tried to fire Punisher again but a bullet went straight through my hand. I ended up dropping that as well.

"Huh, what?" Aeris said confused. She was awake now.

"Aeris, stay down." I said to her.

"Move in on the hooded one! He's going down!" I head one of the seconds yell.

Aw crap, they consider me the weak one.

"Boto! Aeris! Hang on! Cloud shouted out. He was charging over to help but but was cut off by two more third classes and a hand full of of infantry men. Everyone else was busy taking on their targets as well.

Suddenly I felt a surge of energy rush through me, a new limit break. I had no idea what it was or how to use it. I just focused on the energy going through my body. Next thing I know, everything was slowing down. I was able to see these red dots on everyone, they were pressure points. I looked down at my self and saw them on me. I looked at one of the second class SOLDIERS and saw it on him. I was also able to see mako flowing through his body.

I looked at Cloud, he had mako flowing through him as well. Even Red had a little flowing in him.

What the Hell is this. Why is everything moving so slow. Is this what Jenova meant by making me stronger? What am I supposed to do...

Then I had images go though my mind. It was of hands hitting all the pressure points.

The images only lasted a couple of seconds but it was enough to get the point across. I looked up a the three seconds class soldiers. I lifted my arms up, they didn't hurt. I grinned.

I quickly rushed forward, getting ready to strike.

Two palms.

I hit the closets SOLDIER. The pressure points went out.

Four palms

I struck him four more times.

Eight palms.

I hit him another eight times then quickly moved to my next target.

Sixteen palms.

I struck my target sixteen times. I noticed that the mako flowing through him started to slow down.

Thirty two palms.

This one I did a switched back and forth between my first and second target. I then switched over to the last SOLDIER.

Sixty four palms.

I struck him sixty four times. When I had finished the mako flow in all three of them had stopped. Slowly, everything started going back up to normal speed. The three seconds class SOLDIERS where quickly down on the ground.

"What the- I can't move!" One of them shouted.

I quickly ran to where Aeris was. I noticed that not only did the pain in my arms come back but my whole body was in pain.

"Aeris! Are you okay!" I shouted as I picked up Punisher. I used it as a shield for both of us.

"I'm fine, just a few scratches." She said.

"Like Hell you have a few scratches! You have blood all over you!" I shouted.

"Boto, that blood's from you!" Aeris shouted. I looked at my self and noticed that I was also covered in blood.

"We don't have time to sit around then! Let's move!" I shouted. I stood up and pulled out a pistol from Punisher.

"Stay behind me!" I shouted to Aeris. The infantry men started firing at us. I was using Punisher as a shield to return fire. Aeris clung to my back, trying not to get hit. I saw a light glow just below me and felt my injuries slowly healing.

Why is it that when you have cuts the injuries feel good when healing. When you have broken bones they hurt like a bee sting.

I wondered to my self as I slowly made my way back th the group.

Soon, all the guards in the part of the area were down.

"Come on! While we have time let's get out of here!" Cloud shouted. He had a gash on his left leg and his left arm was bleeding.

"Right!" Tifa shouted. She was covered in cuts and bruises but looked pretty okay. Red and Yuffie both looked fine, they only had minimal battle damage. Barret was limping, I think his leg was broken. He still moved pretty fast though.

Soon, all of us were out of the mako reactor area and running along the railroad tracks. After we were a safe distance away from it we stopped to take a breather.

"That was never in the game." I said quietly to my self as I was gasping for air after running so hard and fast.

"We made it!" Yuffie shouted out.

'Let's take this time to heal. After that we keep moving. We don't stop until we have made it to the next town." Cloud said, he was even out of breath.

"I'm good with that." I said as I pulled out high potions and passed them around.

When I drank the high potion it tasted even more bitter than a regular potion. Though it healed twice as fast.

Luckily, when I was shot, the bullet went straight through my arm so the wound was able to seal properly.

"Hey Boto, what did you do to those SOLDERS back there?" Aeris asked.

"Huh?" I said back.

"When you were moving really fast, you hut them really fast. So fast that they couldn't do anything about it. Then they fell over." Aeris said while she was healing cloud.

"Wait, you took down three second class SOLDIERS?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, I can't really explain it though. I guess I was able to see the pressure point on everyone. So I just ran up and hit them. Though the after affect of it sucks. My whole body's sore now." I said as I tried to dig out the bullet in my right hand. I was to much of a wimp to do it so Aeris had to use her cure materia to pull it our, then deal the wound.

"Wow, that's no small feature Boto." Tifa said.

"Hey, I saw you taking on a third class, that was pretty awesome." I said.

"What about me and Red! We whooped up on those SOLIDERS also!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yuffie, you used a bunch of cheap tricks to blind them." Red said as he was licking some of his wounds. Yuffie just crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hey Barret! Why haven't you joined in yet!" I shouted at him. He was just tending to his leg. He just grumbled something before going silent again.

Ah, we're near his hometown. I almost forgot about that.

"Okay, now that everyone his healed, let's get moving." Cloud said. All of us left in silence.

On they way we were able to find a way to wash all the blood off of our selves. Some of the tracks led straight into some water. Those of us that had a lot of blood on us just dive into the water, it came off pretty easily.

It was starting to get dark out by the time we made it to Coral. Suddenly Barret took the lead.

"Barret-" Cloud began but suddenly stopped. Barret walked ahead of us in silence. Soon a bunch of people were surrounding him. They started yelling at him, I couldn't quite make out the words but I knew what they were saying. Then they started punching him. Some even spit I him. I wanted to jump in there and beat the crap out of those guys but that wouldn't help anyone.

"Why is he just letting them do that!" Tifa said ash she curled her hand into a fist. She was about to go help Barret out when Cloud grabbed her shoulder.

"This is something he needs to handle." Cloud said calmly. Tifa just stomped her foot and put her arms on her hands on her hips.

When they were done hitting Barret they left him alone. Barret slowly walked back to us.

"Barret! Are you okay?" Aeris asked, getting her cure materia ready.

"I'm fine." He said in a low tone.

"What was that all about! Why did you let them do that to you!" Tifa demanded.

"I deserved it." Barret said while putting his head down. It was actually hard seeing Barret look like this.

"Wait! Wh-" Tifa began. I grabbed her shoulder this time.

"Tifa, if he want's to talk about it then he will." I tried to sound calm as well. She did the same thing she did to Cloud, stomp her foot and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, ya see, it's like this." Barret began. He told us the story of his home town, how Shinra built a mako reactor there and how Barret allowed it. He then talked about how Shinra destroyed his home town. And how he lost his family, his best friend, and his arm.

"I'm so sorry that happened. I didn't know." Tifa said, trying to sound comforting. Barret said nothing.

"Come on guys, I don't think Sephiroth is here. Let's head some where else." Cloud said. He just wanted to get Barret out of here, I could tell.

"There's one other place we could check while we're here. The Gold Saucer." I said.

Cloud nodded and we headed to the gondola the led to it.

"I don't feel sorry for him. He should never have trusted the Shinra." Yuffie said bitterly.

"Going to The Gold Saucer? Right this way." The man at the entrance to the gondola said as he opened the door to the gondola. All of us walked in. The door closed and after a few minuets, it took off.

The sun was going down and it was almost dark now. All of us were silent as the gondola went up. The mood in the room was very gloomy. That all changed when The Gold Saucer came into view. Yuffie, Aeris and I ran to the front window to get a better look at ti. It was so incredible. The lights, the sounds, the screaming people on the rides, the music.

"Wow, it so pretty!" Aeris said excitedly. I looked back and saw that Cloud, Barret, and Red were the only ones that didn't seem to excited. Tifa looked excited but not as much as the three of us.

"I can't wait!" Yuffie said as she bounced up and down, though quickly stopped.

"Oh jeez, I feel the motion." She said as she quickly calmed down.

Mr. Umble, you just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do now?

"Screw going to Disney Land! I'm going to The Gold Saucer!" I shouted out in excitement.

"What's Disney Land?" Aeris asked as she tilted her head. I just started laughing.

It's funny that they don't know what Disney is considering the fact that they have a crossover game with Disney.

"Ha ha, it's nothing really." I said as I laughed. Aeris just tilted her head and shrugged.

"Wait a second, are they going to let us in with all of these weapons?" I asked.

"I don't see why now." Cloud said.

Holy crap man! They will let us in! What kind of amusement park let's it visitors carry weapons into it! Wait, this is also the same kind the built a prison right below it... No wonder why Barret's friend is able to go on a rampage in there! They allow weapons, a prison is right under them. Man, if the prisoners decided to do a prison break then everyone above is screwed... Unless they have their own weapons. In which case the amusement park will become a friggin battle field.

When the gondola pulled into The Gold Saucer Yuffie, Aeris and I were the first ones out. Everyone one else followed shortly after. I walked around and looked at all the decorations. This was going to be awesome.

Cloud went ahead to talk to the lady at the ticket stand, I guess you could call it that. When he came back he had a frown on his face.

"The tickets are really pricey guys. Let's pull our money together to see how much we have."

"How much are they?" Aeris asked.

"Thirty two hundred a ticket." Cloud said. Every ones eyes went wide. Even mine. I had forgotten about the fee to get it. Hopefully, by dumb luck we have enough gil to get in.

I handed my gil over to Cloud, it was about twenty five hundred from me. Cloud counted all of it over and over again. He finally turned to the group.

"Well guys, I have some good new and some bad news. The good news is, we have enough to get in. The bad news, one of us is going to be left out." Cloud said looking at the group.

Gee, I wounder who that's going to be!

"Here's the plan, all if us are going to draw straws to see who is going to have to wait out here while the rest of us look for Sephiroth." Cloud said. He walked over to the ticket lady and came back with some straws.

"The one who draws the shortest stay out here." Cloud said. All of us pulled out a straw I noticed that mine was incredibly short.

"Okay, let's see them." Cloud said. All of us held out our straws. Yuffie sighed in relief when she saw that her straw wasn't the shortest. Red was trying to tell if his was short or not. He was holding it in his mouth. Tifa and Aeris looked relieved about that fact that they had long straws. Barret didn't really seem to care. Cloud just kept a blank face about his.

I looked gloomily at my short straw. It was mocking me, telling me that I'm a failure at life.

"Looks like Boto has the short straw." Cloud said bluntly.

"Ha! In your face!" Yuffie shouted as she pointed at me.

"It's okay Boto, I'll get you something nice from inside." Tifa said as she patted me on the shoulder.

"Thanks Tifa." I said, trying to sound happy.

"Would you like me to stay out here with you?" Aeris asked.

"Nah, it's fine, you go on ahead." I said, smiling at Aeris.

"Okay, lets head in." Cloud said. All of them bought a ticket and walked in. I just leaned against the wall and sat down.

"That's fine, I didn't want to go to prison anyway." I said as I moped. I sat there for a while before I decided to get up and do something. I decided to pull a Zack and do some squats, just for the fun of it. After doing about thirty of them my legs started to get sore so I quit. I sat back down.

I then pulled out my i-phone and decided to watch something on it. I scrolled through the videos I had on it.

Oh crap, I almost forgot about the parodies on here. Man, if Cloud and the others see this then I'm screwed." I said to my self. I then went through the movies. I saw Advent Children and started to laugh.

"Heh heh, I could watch Final Fantasy 7 while I'm in Final Fantasy 7." I said. I was about to watch it when I suddenly got an idea. I quickly stood up and ran over to the lady at the ticket booth.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, you can. Do you remember those people that walked in not to long ago?" I asked, trying to sound like I was a business man.

"Yes, I do." She said politely.

"Well, you see, they are part of a small industry call Square Enix. We aren't that big yet but we plan on being big." I said as she gave me a weird look. I took the as a sigh to continue.

"You see, we just finished making this movie called Advent Children. We use state of the art CGI, or Computer Generated Imagery. Before we release it into theaters we are trying to get people to review it to see if they like it or not. Since you are a ticket holder I was wondering if you cloud review it for us. If you do you will get one of these." I held out my i-phone. Her eyes widened at the new devise.

"What's that?" She asked as though she was in a trance.

"This, my fair lady, is a device known as, the i-phone. It's top of the line, cutting edge technology, never been seen before." I showed her all the things it could do. She was in aw.

"You will also get a free ticket for you and your friends to go see the movie when it comes out. So, what do you say?" I asked.

"Yes!" She shouted out quickly and with excitement.

Hook, line and sinker.

I showed her the movie, Advent Children on my i-phone. She was completely mesmerized by it the entire time. It took a while and almost killed my phone but we got through the move.

"So, what did you think?" I asked her as I turned off the phone and put it away.

"That... Was... Incredible!" She shouted. I was taken back for a bit but quickly regained my composure. I gave her a soft smile.

"I'm glad you liked that. Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you the i-phone or tickets just yet. Though if you give us a number we could contact you or any specific location then we would be more then happy to help you." I said. She was practically jumping up and down with joy.

"No problem! I'm here most of the time! You can just come here and give me the stuff! Wow, were those really the people form the movie that walked by! How did you get all those voice actors into it! I can't believe that I saw the people from the movie! Oh, Cloud is such a dream boat! So was that guy wearing the red cape!" She continued to fan-girl over everything.

"That's great. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I would love to go inside and meet up with everyone but sadly, I don't have the monkey to get in." I said, trying to look disappointed.

"Oh! I can get you in! But you have to do something for me." She said with a sinister smile.

Really! That would be fantastic! What can I do for you?" I asked, trying to see where this puppy would lead me.

"I want a date with Cloud and the guy in the red cape... At the same time!" She demanded.

Holy crap! That's going to be impossible to pull off! Though I don't think I will have to.

"That's fair. Oh and by they way, their full names are Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine." Is aid with a grin.

"Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine." She said lost in her own fantasies.

"Just keep that Tifa girl away from them! I don't like her.' She demanded. I just laughed.

"No problem." I said. She pulled out a life time pass and handed it to me.

"Now, remember your promise! Also, when I see the others, I will give them a pass as well." She said cheerfully.

"Awesome. Thank you so much," I said.

"Wait, where were the other people that were in the movie?" She asked before I walked in.

"Oh, they couldn't make it right now. Sadly, they were held up in some meetings." I said.

"Oh, okay. Well, enjoy your time at the Gold Saucer!" She said excitedly. I nodded my head and walked in.

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><p><em>AN: Alright! We're in The Gold Saucer now! Next up, trying to sabotage the chocobo races! Remember, reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated! Also, ideas for limit breaks would be awesome! See you in the next chapter!_


	15. Chapter 15: Day At The Races

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did, I would say 'Screw you college and work!' and use the money I have from owning all this stuff to buy a two story cardboard box and become a hobo with wireless internet everywhere I go.**_

_A/N: Alright, just wanted to thank Mzr90m RandomnessFTW and acebrainbuster for the suggestions. Still looking forward to what other people have to say. Now then, here's chapter fifteen._

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><p>Chapter Fifteen: Day At The Races<p>

"Wait, so you're telling me that he's not even with them yo!" Reno said as he leaned over the table and looked Reeve directly in the eyes.

"Nope." Reeve said flatly before returning to his monitor. Reno's jaw just hung open for a bit.

"What do ya mean 'Nope' yo!" Reno demanded.

"I mean nope as in, nope, he's not with them." Reeve said with a hint of irritation in his voice now.

"Then just ask them where he is yo!" Reno was about to jump over the desk and do it him self.

"I can't do that, Cait Sith isn't supposed to know anyone. If I have him going around asking where this Hoody person is then they are going to get suspicious. I'm surprised that they took him into the group." Reeve said as he focused on the monitor. Reno just leaned back into his chair and sighed.

"What are they doing now yo?" Reno asked after a long silence.

"Well, by the looks of it, they're getting throw into prison." Reeve said as he leaned closer to the monitor and raised an eyebrow at it.

"Well, sucks to be them. Let me know when you get information on Hoody yo." Reno said before getting up and leaving.

Reeve sighed when he left. Things were pretty crazy ever since AVALANCHE made their assault on the Mt. Coral mako reactor. The puzzling thing about the whole thing was that they didn't try to break into it. Instead they retreated to Corel. That was when President Rufus decided to infiltrate AVALANCHE. He wanted to know what they were up to and why they were going after Sephiroth. That much was painfully obvious. Fortunately, Reeve had recently finished his new toy, Cait Sith.

As soon as he got the order, he deployed him at what he assumed would be their next destination, The Gold Saucer. Luck was on his side, he was right. He was given the orders to get as much information as he can on them. Also, he had to give updates on their location.

So far, the only thing to report was that they were missing a person, they had a new person and they were being thrown into the prison.

* * *

><p>I was walking around, enjoying all the sights and sounds. It was even more awesome because I was carrying a giant weapon around and nobody seemed to care.<p>

This place was actually really crowded. Children dragging their parents to the next attraction, couples walking around, the entrance to the fighting arena closed off.

Wait, the entrance is closed off?

I walked over to it and saw a couple of guards standing by it, telling people to just move along.

"Hey, what happened over here?" I asked as I approached them.

"A few people got out of hand, we took care of the problem though. Just keep moving along sir." The guard said as he waved me on.

Ah, I see, Cloud and the others must have already been thrown into the prison. Wow, that didn't take very long... Crap, what am I supposed to do now? I have no money and GP... Crap! I should have tried to get GP out of the girl as well... She never gave me her name. Oh well, I'll worry about it later. Hrm, maybe I can check out that haunted hotel thing. The Ghost Hotel right? Yeah, I'm checking that out.

I walked over to the tube that lead to the Ghost Hotel. I put my hand at the top of the tube. I then stuck my head in to examine it.

"This is the weirdest but coolest way to travel around." I said before I put my other hand on the top of the tube. I gripped it tightly and swing my self forward, launching my self down the tube.

It was dark, I couldn't tell if I was going up, down, left or right and I was dizzy. It was the craziest and best way to travel. I don't know what I did but when I landed, I landed hard on my side. It took me a few moments to realize where I was.

"That was friggin awesome!" I shouted as I stood up the the graveyard. I looked around and saw that they did an awesome job to make this place look as authentic as possible. I began to walk towards the hotel.

I walked into the front door only to be greeted by that creepy butler guy.

"Good evening Sir. How may I help you?" I said slowly, it was very creepy they way he said it. It was friggin awesome.

"Oh, I'm just looking around." I said. He nodded and quickly left. I walked around the place examining it. I saw the ghosts playing chess, it was the greatest thing I had seen all day. I walked over to them and watched as they played.

"Man, this is the coolest display ever." I said out loud. The ghosts didn't seem to care. I decided to grab the rook from the ghost on the left and move it next to the ghost on the right's queen. Suddenly both of the ghosts stopped playing and stared at me.

I was a bit surprised that the props were doing this. I just gave them a weird look.

Suddenly, the ghost on the left flipped the board over, knocking all the chess pieces to the ground. Both of them then faded out.

"Well... That was awkward..." I trailed off before walking away. I decided to examine the decorations of the hotel more.

"Man, this would be the perfect place to blare Thriller. I'm going to have to find a way to do that." I said as I walked around.

After exploring that place for a bit I decided to head over to the Chocobo racing area. I figured that if I was lucky, Cloud would already be racing.

When I got there, it turns out that I was wrong. I searched high and low for him, any sign of Cloud being in the races. Nothing.

"Crap. Looks like they're still the Corel Prison. Or watching Barret fight Dyne." I said as I aimlessly walked around. This place was really crowded. People were running around trying to get bets in on the next race. Some were jumping for joy while others cussed the ones jumping for joy out.

"Yo Greg! Help me out with the chocobos for the next race!" I heard a guy shout. I looked over and saw two guys heading for a door off in the distance.

Chocobos for the next race? This ought to be interesting. Time to go into stealth mode.

I pulled my hood over my head and slowly followed the guys to the back room. I watched as both of them entered. Before the door closed I quickly ran up and stuck my foot into, stopping it from closing.

Heh heh, go me.

I crept into the room and hid in the shadows. There was a bunch of stables where the chocobos were being kept.

The two guys that were in putting saddles on the chocobos.

"So these guys are for the next race?" One of them asked.

"Yup. Now let's go, it's going to be starting soon." The second one said. Both of them walked right past me.

I had a devilish grin on my face when they left. I walked over to the chocobos. All of them looked pretty happy.

"Now let's see, what can I do here... Hold the phone and back the truck up! Are those status affects just lying around on that table!" I ran over to the table and there was a tone of status affect items on the it. All the way from hypers to tranquilizers.

"Huh, I wonder what a chocobo would look like after it had overdosed on tranquilizers." I said as I picked a couple up. I also picked up a bunch of other status effect things. I didn't remember the names of them but I know what they do. One gets them really angry, one makes them go silent, one makes them incredibly hyper and the tranquilizer knocks them out. I testes them out on all of the chocobos. I wasn't paying attention to the order, I was having to much fun just injecting them with the stuff.

"Huh, so far nothing's happening.." I said out loud as I finished putting a hyper into the last chocobo. When I backed up the chocobo stables started to rise.

"Looks like I finished on time. I'm a go head and watch the races now." I said as I quickly made my way out of the stables.

When I got out there I saw that everyone was crowding around all the TV's that showed the race. I managed to squeeze myself into the front of a TV. I watched as the racers walked onto the track one by one, grabbing their chocobos and leading them to out further. When the last racer walked out onto the track my eyes widened in terror. Cloud had walked on the track. He grabbed his chocobo and mounted it.

Oh crap! Crap crap crap! I can't remember what I put into Cloud's chocobo! Okay, calm down Robert, by the looks of it the status affects had no affects on the chocobos. So you might get lucky and nothing happens.

It was either The Planets way of screwing with me or I had really bad luck. As soon as I had finished thinking that, the races started. And as soon as the races started, the status affects took their affect.

A couple of the chocobos instantly fell asleep. Others started running around in circles on the track with incredible speed. One of them seemed fine, it must have been the one with silent on it. Sadly, Cloud's chocobo was the one that went on a rampage. He was being tossed back and forth like a rag doll before it threw him off.

Cloud's chocobo went on a rampage after that. It charged and literally tackled, or at least what looked like a tackle, another chocobo to the ground. It was one of the hyper ones that was just running around in circles.

The other chocobo rider was already way ahead of the rest. By the time anyone knew what was going on the race had finished. Cloud had lost the race.

"Oh crap, this does not look good for the Robert Umble." I said as I watched the screen go dark.

The rider that had won the race was now standing before a mob of people. A variety of colorful words were being tossed out at him. I didn't really care to listen to them. I was more worried about the fact that I just screwed the entire group over.

Okay, calm down, calm down, just calm down. Maybe this will all work out for the better... Who am I kidding, I just screwed everyone over!

"Hey, here comes Dio!" Someone from the mob shouted. I looked over to the entrance and saw Dio walk in. He had a smile on his face.

"Okay, everyone just settle down. We'll have this problem sorted out. I'll have my men investigate what happened. In the mean time, I have some one I need to talk to." Dio said as he began to scan the crowd.

"Ah ha! There you are kid!" He shouted as he pointed at Cloud. I didn't even notice when Cloud walked in. Cloud looked pretty beat up.

"Yeah, kid, follow me." Cloud just sighed and followed Dio. I decided to follow Cloud and Dio from a distance. They walked walked out of the main part of the race area and into some back hallways.

"Okay kid, I bet you already know why I pulled you aside." Dio began.

"I told you, I'm not a kid. I'm an ex-SOLDIER." Cloud said annoyed.

"What ever you say kid." Dio said as Cloud just sighed.

"Now then, about the race. As you already know, someone tampered with it. Obviously, it wasn't you. You lost. But I will find the person who did this. No one cheats and gets away with it." Dio said with anger in his voice. I tried to stay silent as I followed them.

"Now then, normally I would have you race again to try and get your freedom but the races are booked until next week. Something tells me that you are in a hurry. So I'll cut you some slack. You and your friends can go free." Dio said as he stopped. I saw him start to turn around. I quickly dove into another hallway.

Yes! My stupidity worked out for the better again! Just like that one time I broke an arcade game and got free stuff from the guy that fixed it.

"Really?" Cloud asked with a bit of surprise in his voice.

"Really really. I already have your little friends on their way up here. Now, if you will wait here for your friends, I have to go and take care of that problem and root out the cheater." Dio said as he stormed off. He walked right past me.

It was even a second later before I heard another door open.

"Cloud!" I heard Aeris shout. I looked around the corner and saw everyone walk up to Cloud.

"So, I heard you were thrown off your chocobo." I head Cait Sith say.

Holy crap man, I almost forgot that he had a Scottish accent.

"Yeah, someone cheated and caused almost all of the chocobos to flip out." Cloud said as he folded his arms.

"I wonder who did it?" Tifa asked.

Before anyone could answer, another person came running down the hallway.

"Sorry to bother you guys but Dio asked me to give you this letter." It was Ester. She quickly handed Cloud a letter.

"Oh and congratulations on your... Odd luck." Ester said before running back down the hallway.

Hrm, Dio either had that letter written out before hand or her can write really fast.

I watched as Cloud read the letter. He then looked away from the paper.

"Sephiroth." Cloud said darkly.

"What did it say?" Yuffie asked as she tried to look over Cloud's shoulder to read the letter. She failed miserably.

"It said that Sephiroth is headed towards a town called Gongaga. Dio also gave us a buggy to use." Cloud said as he put the letter in his pocket.

"A buggy? That's wonderful!" Aeris said.

Huh, I thought that Dio was supposed to just say that it was a gift. Oh well, must have changed his letter.

"Oh, we should call Boto and tell him! Anyone have his number to his PHS?" Tifa asked.

"Nah, don't bother calling that fat guy. He's probably doing something dumb. Like being fat." I said as I started to walk down the hallway.

"Boto? I though you were suppos' to be waitin' at the entrance?" Barret asked as everyone stared at me.

"You don't look so good. Are you okay Boto?" Aeris asked. I gave them a confused look.

"Huh, what do you mean?" I asked.

"You're eyes are incredibly blood shot and you just look really tired." Red said.

" I do? I actually feel fine. What time is it?" I asked as I began to look around for a clock.

"It's actually nine in the morning." Aeris said.

Holy crap! I've been up all night! Dude, I didn't even notice!

"Huh, so I pulled an all nighter." I said as I walked over to Cait Sith.

"Who's the new guy?" I asked as I pointed to him.

"Pleased to meet you. The names Cait Sith!" He said energetically. He stuck out his paw, which made the mog he was ridding stick out it's paw. I looked at his paw and then at the mog's paw, I decided to shake both f them.

Would you like your fortune read?" Cait asked. I shrugged

"Sure, why not." I said.

"Okay, just give me a second." He said as he did a little dance. When he was finished he handed me a slip of paper. I took it and read it out loud.

" '_Disobedience will have you replaced.'" _I looked at the paper for a bit.

"What kind of fortune is that?" I asked out loud.

"Huh, that's weird. Let me try again." Cait said. He did his dance again and handed me another slip of paper.

_"'A mothers love is great, so his her wrath.'"_ I said as I read that one out loud. I started to get a little worried.

"Hey Tifa, you think that one's talkin' about you?" Barret said jokingly.

"What?" Tifa asked confused.

"Ya know, since you're always worryin' about everyone like a mother. And when you get mad, you get mad." Barret said with a grin. Tifa just glared at him.

"Can I get another fortune?" I asked Cait.

"Sure!" He said gladly. He did another dance and handed me the slip.

_"' You will submit to me.'"_ I read the paper out loud. Everyone just looked at Cait Sith and me weird.

"That wasn't a fortune." Yuffie said bluntly.

"Huh, I swear I've never gotten anything like that before. That just means I'm definitely going to have to follow you guys now." He said as he looked at everyone.

I continued to look at the slip of paper. I knew what it meant. Jenova was telling me these things. The freaky thing is, she was using Cait Sith.

"Boto, you okay?" Yuffie asked. I looked up. Everyone was now staring at me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just getting a little tired is all." I said.

"Okay, we've wasted enough time here. Let's fins Sephiroth and what he wants with this Black materia that he's after." Cloud said.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that thing... How could I forget about the black materia! Maybe I really am getting tired.

All of us followed Cloud to the elevator the lead us to the bottom of The Gold Saucer. When we reached the bottom it opened up to what looked like a waiting room. All of us walked out of it and into the desert. Right in front of us was a red buggy. It was actually pretty big, it was high off the ground like a monster tuck.

"Woo! That thing look friggin awesome!" I shouted as I ran up to it. I jumped onto the side of it and opened up a door. There was only three seat in it. On the bright side, there was a crap tone of trunk space.

"Let me see inside!" Yuffie said as she jumped up next to me to get a better look. Everyone else walked up to it.

"Hey, it's a stick shift!" I shouted out. I have always wanted to see thing thing up close.

"How are all of us going to fit in here?" Tifa asked as she looked into it from the other side.

"Well, three people get the seats and I guess everyone can crowd up in the back/" Cloud said as he walked over to the drivers side of the buggy.

"Hey Barret, I have an idea! You and me get on top of this thing!" I shouted.

"What for!" He shouted back.

"Because, both if us have guns! If something comes chasing after us we can just shoot it before it even gets to us! Besides, it leaves more space for everyone in the buggy!" I shouted back to him.

"You know, you really don;t need to shout. We're all right here." Tifa said as she uncovered her ears. I just grinned and rubbed the back of my head.

"Sounds good to me." Barret said as he climbed up the back to get on top. I climbed up the side of it. On the top of it there were side railings all around it. There was also an emergency exit in the middle of the roof. I opened it up so we could talk to the people inside. I sat in the front while Barret sat in the back.

"Just be careful up there you two. I don't want you guys falling off." Tifa said in a worried motherly tone.

"Told ya she was like a mother." Batter whispered to me. I just laughed a little.

It took a little bit for everyone to get in. Cloud was driving, Aeris had shotgun, Tifa had the middle seat and everyone else was in the back.

"Okay, let's go." Cloud said as the engine roared to life. He floored it and we took off.

It didn't take long for the lack of sleep to kick in. I was slowly getting tired. I tired to stay wake for fear of falling off the roof. Luckily, the hot wind blowing in my face helped to keep me awake.

I watched as the desert was passing by us. We crossed over a lot of sand hills so it was pretty bumpy.

"Hey Cloud, normally I can take car rides but can you take it easy over the bumps. I'm starting to get a little car sick." Yuffie said.

"Sorry Yuffie, we're in a hurry." Cloud said as he focused on the path ahead of him.

"But Cloud I- Oh jeez!" Yuffie shouted as she quickly covered her mouth.

"Yuffie! Noooooooooo-" Red began to shout. I cut him off though by quickly closing the emergency escape door. Barret and I stared at each other with wide eyes.

"I'm so glad we're up here." Barret said.

"So am I. Pound it." I said as I lifted up my fist to him. Both if us did a knuckle touch.

"Do you think the windows on this thing can roll down?" I asked.

"If they could, they would have done it by now." Barret said. No windows rolled down.

"Well crap, sucks to be them. Hey Barret, do you want to smell that stuff down there?" I asked.

"Hell no!" He shouted.

"Then I suggest we cover the hatch up. Other wise we're going to be smelling it up here." I said as I pointed to the hatch. Barret quickly moved on top of it. There was no way that they were going to open up that hatch now.

Luckily, nothing came after us. We went through the desert and made it into the grassy area. It took us half the day but we made it to a forest. Since we couldn't bring the buggy into it we had to stop. Barret and I quickly got off the top of the roof. I felt dizzy now from the lack of sleep.

Suddenly all the doors on the buggy shot open. Everyone piled out of the buggy. Cloud was the first one out, he had some of Yuffie's bile on him.. He started gasping for air and moving as far away from the buggy as possible.

"Air! Fresh air!" Aeris shouted as she tried to jump out of the buggy from the passenger side, the left side of her had bile. Unfortunately, she tripped over the foot step and landed face first into the ground.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Tifa said as she quickly got out from the drivers side, her back and hair was completely covered in bile. She quickly ran behind a couple of trees, making sure that she was out of sight, and started throwing up.

Red was the next one out of the buggy. He didn't run out of it like the other three. Instead, he slowly walked out. To put it bluntly, Red's fur was no longer red. It was now a sickly yellow and green.

"Someone help me. It's all over the place. It's all over me." He said, sounding like he was about to burst into tears.

Cait Sith was the next one to come out. He was covered in it as well, though he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled and jumped out.

"That wasn't so bad." He said happily.

Of course you didn't think it was that bad. You're a robot.

The last person out of the buggy was Yuffie. She was crawling out of it. She was also covered in the stuff.

"I warned you Cloud!" Yuffie shouted in a sickly tone. She crawled onto the ground and just laid there. It looked like she had died.

"Once again, I'm so glad we weren't in there. It smell like something died in there." Barret said as he covered his nose.

"Correction, it smells like something died, another thing came up, ate that dead thing, threw it back up and died, and the bile that was left over crapped all over the place." I said as I backed away and covered my nose. I was literally afraid to look inside of the buggy.

"Why, why couldn't we reopen the hatch." Cloud said in between gasps of breath. Barret and I looked at each other before responding.

"I don't." I finally said as I shrugged. Cloud just glared at us.

"The important thing it, it's over." Barret said as he backed away from Cloud.

"That was the most sickening thing I've ever seen and smelt in my entire life." Tifa said sickly as she walked back from behind the trees.

"How do you think I feel!" Red shouted as he stood there, trying not to spread the bile any further over his body.

"We need to let the buggy air out." Aeris said as she lifted her self off the ground and quickly walked away from the buggy.

"So where are we going next?" Cait asked as he looked around.

"We're going to be looking around the forest and traveling to Gongaga. I'm going to be taking three other people with me. Who wants to go?"

"I do!" I shouted. I don't care if I felt like I was about to fall over from being tire, there was no way in Hell that I was staying behind with this mess.

Barret was about to volunteer to go but Aeris and Tifa beat him to the punch.

"I do!" Both of them shouted at the same time.

I think they have the same idea as me about staying with the buggy.

"Dammit!" Barret shouted. I did a fist pump.

"There might be a place where we can wash our clothes off." Aeris said as she looked at the bile that the left side of her body was covered in.

"Agreed." Tifa said as she grabbed her hair and looked at it.

"Sounds good to me." Cait said happily as he walked over to Yuffie.

"You need any help there?" He asked her. Yuffie just groaned

"Please, please clean me off." Red said desperately.

"Looks like you have a handful to take care of." I said to Barret. He just grumbled something before walking over to the buggy. He instantly regretted doing so.

"Holy- It looked like someone was brutally murdered in here! Only instead of blood it vomit that's all over the place!" Barret shouted.

"Let's get our things and go." Cloud said as he began to walk into the forest. Tifa, Aeris and I quickly followed.

I heard that if you stay awake for to long you get the feeling of being intoxicated. Due to my lack of sleep, I was getting that feeling after walking around the forest for about ten minuets.

"Ha ha ha ha." I started laughing out of nowhere.

"You okay Boto?" Cloud asked as he looked over at me.

"Huh, what? Yeah, I'm fi- Holy crap! A talking chocobo!" I shouted as I pointed at Cloud. Cloud just sighed and shook his head.

I looked over and Tifa and Aeris, both of them were walking in silence. I started laughing again.

"Hey Cloud, I go- I got something to tell you." I said as I wobbled over to him. He just sighed.

"What?" He asked annoyed. I just laughed more before I spoke.

"I'm pretty sure that Aeris likes you." I said as I tried to be silent about, sadly, I was not.

"What?" Cloud and Aeris shouted out in surprise. I just laughed.

"Hey Cloud, I think Tifa likes you." I said while trying to not bust up laughing. Everyone's faces were turning red. I just started laughing some more.

"Hey Tifa!" I shouted. She just sighed and put her head down in embarrassment.

"I think Vincent likes you." I said as I laughed even harder.

"Vincent? Who's Vincent" Cloud asked as he looked back at me and Tifa. Tifa just shrugged.

"Ha ha, youknowit'sthat gut widf the flowering headhair thing." I said as I began to stumble all over my words. Everyone looked at me funny. I just started to laugh even harder.

"Boto, I think you need to lay down somewhere and get some rest." Aeris said.

"Huh, nah, nah. I'm fine, I'm fine." I said.

"Boto, you're talking to a tree." Aeris said bluntly.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" I said as I began to poke the tree.

I swear this tree just told me to go shove a stump in my ear! Well this tree isn't going to get the better of me!

"Come on Boto, let's go." Cloud said as he pulled me away from the tree.

"I'm not... What was I about to say!" I shouted as I pointed at the tree.

We continued to walk along the path. Cloud had to help me walk. Soon we came to an inter section in the path. Up ahead were the Turks.

"Hey, Rude. Who do you like yo?" Reno asked. Rude just turned away from him.

"What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on. Who do you like?" Reno said playfully as he nudged Rude in the arm. Rude went silent for a little while before he responded.

"Tifa." He said bluntly. When we heard that Tifa's face went really red.

Hmmmm, that's a tough one. But, poor Elena. She... You..." Reno said as he pointed off into the distance then at Rude.

"No, she likes Tseng." Rude said as he followed Reno's hand motions.

"I never knew that! But Tseng likes that Ancient..." Reno trailed off. I decided to put my two cents into the conversation and began to walk up to them.

"Boto!" Cloud began to say but I just ignored him.

"You know Reno, I'm surprised you haven't said anything about those yaoi fan-girls always paring you up with different guys." I said as I walked up to them.

"What! Who said that I like guys yo!" Reno shouted. Rude just seemed to snicker a little.

"Don't worry Rude, they pair you up with him as well." I said as I began to laugh. Both of them just stared at each other in disgust.

"Ugh, look, I don't care what Rude does but I don't cheer for the other team yo!" Reno said as he backed away.

"I don't either." Rude said as he backed away at the same time. I just started to laugh.

"Hey wait a second! It you!" Reno shouted as he pointed at me.

"Of course it's me. Who'd you think it was... Some... Guy... Ha ha, I said guy." I said as I began to bust up laughing.

"They're here! They're really here!" Elena shouted as she ran up to us. Cloud, Aeris and Tifa followed her.

"Yeah, we kinda' noticed that yo!" Reno shouted as both he and Rude stood in their fighting positions.

"Then we're counting on you! I'll report this to Tseng!" Elena shouted before running off.

"Oh I've been waiting for this for a long time. You're going to pay for what you did in Sector Seven." Reno said as he cracked hi knuckles. I just looked at him funny.

"Scot Seven? Huh... Raiden You're not making much sense." I said as I wobbled around. Both Rude and Reno looked at me weird.

"It's Reno! Not Raiden! Who ever that guy is!" Reno shouted. I just started to laugh.

"Ha ha! Okay okay okay, this pretty fun! Okay, so what's my name!" I asked him. He just looked at me weird.

"It's Boto yo!" He shouted.

"It's not Boto! It's Boto! How can you not remember that! You're always the one goin' around asking if we've got it memorized!" I shouted as I pointed to my head.

"Huh?" He looked at me with an even more confused face.

"Yeah, you an Roxas always following Naruto around or somthin'. Then you make trips to Soul Society... No wait wait, you make trips to Earth! As that little lion thing." I said as I pointed at him.

"Is this guy wasted yo!" Reno shouted at Cloud as he pointed at me. Everyone just did a face palm.

"He's just really really tired." Tifa finally said. Reno did a face palm as well.

"Well then, this fight should be easy." Rude said as he cracked his knuckles.

\ "Yeah, time to get my EMR back!" Reno shouted.

"EMR? The Hell is an EMR?... Elephant's... Mediocre... Rehab? Dude! What's wrong with you!" I shouted at him.

"It's that electro mag rod you have! I also want my goggles, my wallet and materia back yo!" Reno shouted.

"I can't give you that stuff back!" I shouted back at him.

"Oh? And why not?" Reno asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh I'll tell you alright. Break it down for me fellas!" I shouted as I pointed back to Cloud, Tifa and Aeris. Everyone went silent for a bit.

"Guys! You're supposed to start beat boxing so I can start rapping!" I shouted at them.

"Boto! What are you talking about!" Cloud shouted.

"Don't tell me you guys didn't practice!" I shouted at them.

"You had a rap song planned out?" Tifa asked.

"No! But that's not the point! The point is that you guys were supposed to practice! Man! No wonder why we're so dirt poor!" I shouted.

"Enough if this! I'm getting my stuff back now yo!" Reno shouted as he charged at me.

"Huh?" I turned to look at him just in time for him to punch me in the face. I stumbled back and fell on my back.

"How'd ya like that yo?" Reno said in a cocky attitude.

"You call that a punch! My grandma punches harder then that!" I shouted at Reno.

"How about this then yo!" Reno shouted ad he kicked me in the side. Suddenly Reno was tackled to the ground by Cloud.

"Boto!" Aeris shouted as she ran to pull me up. Tifa was in the middle of a fight with Rude now.

"Boto, just stay here! We'll take care of them." Aeris said as she pulled out her staff.

"No no no, I got this, I have an idea. I red this in a fan-fiction once." I said as I pulled out the bandages that Aeris used on me from when Tifa broke my ribs.

"A what?" She asked in confusion. I wrapped the bandage around my hand until there was a thick layer covering it. I then used my fire materia to light my bandaged hand on fire.

"I don;t remember the name of the story or the attack he used but I'm pretty sure that it was something like this." I said as I showed Aeris my burning had.

"Boto! Why did you light your hand on fire!" She screamed.

"My hand's on fire! Oh crap! Some one put it! Put it out! Put it out!" I screamed as I began to run around.

"You lost your stuff to this guy!" Rude shouted as he blocked one of Tifa's punches.

"Shut up yo!" Reno shouted as he dodged Cloud's buster sword. I was still running around like an idiot before I ran right into Reno, knocking him over.

"Dude! Put it out!" I yelled at him as I waved my hand at him.

"Watch were you're waving that thing yo!" Reno shouted as he tried to get me off of him.

"Reno! I think we need to get out of here!" Rude shouted jumped away from Tifa.

"I think you right this time yo!" Reno shouted as he kicked me off. Both of them made a hasty retreat into the forest. Aeris ran up to me and used an ice materia to put my hand out.

"Phew! That was a close one!" I said as I stared at my hand.

"Boto you're and idiot!" Tifa shouted at me.

"I agree! I think that went pretty well!" I shouted at Tifa before I got back onto my feet. I almost feel over.

I was so tired by now that I could barely keep my eyes open.

"On a brighter note, I he scared the Turks off." Aeris said as she let me lean on her to help keep me up. Cloud just sighed and shook his head.

"Aeris, take Boto back. I'm going to call Barret and tell him that Boto's in no shape to fight and that he's going to switch him out." Cloud said as he pulled out his PHS. Luckily, we were only fifteen minuets away from the buggy. Aeris quickly took me back.

"Yeah, I got the call." Barret said as he walked over to us. I was to tired to remember what happened next. The only thing I remember is Aeris letting me go and then falling face first into the ground, falling asleep before I even hit it.

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><p><em>AN: Yeah, I enjoyed writing this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Also, the reference to the other fan-fiction, if you didn't catch it was The Stranger From The Sky, by acebrainbuster. I decided to do a little shout out with that because that story was the one that inspired me to write this one. So if you like this story than you will love that story. Also, I might be able to get another chapter up this week. As for suggestions, I think I'm good on those for now. Remember to review! See you in chapter sixteen everyone!_


	16. Chapter 16: Discovery

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did then Crappy the one legged lawn gnome would not be here right now.**_

_A/N: With this chapter, I decided to change things up a bit. This chapter is going to be taken from Reeve's point of view as he watches everything from Cait Sith's point of view. Everything is in third person veiw._

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><p>Chapter Sixteen: Discovery<p>

Reeve watched the monitor as he watched Cait Sith scrubbed down the inside of the buggy. They had managed to find a small creek nearby to help them clean them selves and the buggy off. Reeve was about to switch over to his report when Cait Sith suddenly looked outside the buggy. People could be heard talking outside of the buggy so Cait went to go check it out. What Reeve saw on the monitor caught his attention. Aeris was escorting Boto, as he finally learned his name, or at least nickname, back to the camp site.

Aeris let go of Boto and he quickly feel face first into he ground.

"Ah! I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Aeris said quickly as she bent over to check on him. He didn't make a sound.

"Did the lad die?" Cait Sith asked cheerfully as he hopped next to them. Reeve sighed. Even though he built Cait Sith, the things he said still surprised him. Don't get him wrong though, he loved Cait Sith to pieces, just sometimes his creation said the most oddest of things.

"He'll be awright. The dumb ass just tired himself out." Barret said as he shook his head at Boto.

"Are you sure?" Aeris asked in a worried tone.

"Positive. Now let's go. Cloud an' Tifa are waitin' on us." Barret said as he pointed to the forest. Aeris nodded her head.

"You guys still haven't gotten that hurl off of ya?" Barret asked as they started walking down the forest path. Cait Sith watched them until they were out of eye sight. He then turned around and hopped over to where Yuffie and Red XIII were. They were on the other side of the buggy.

When he rounded the corner he saw that Yuffie was still scrubbing Red XIII.

"This is the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me." Red XIII said in a bitter tone as Yuffie continued to wash all of the bile off of him.

"Relax ya big poodle, you're almost nice and clean." Yuffie said as she scrubbed his back she then put the rag she was using into the bucket of water. Red XIII just sighed as he looked ashamed of himself.

"What's going over here fellas?" Cait asked as he hopped over to them.

Reeve was really glad that he gave Cait Sith the moogle to ride. Otherwise it would take ages for him to get anywhere.

"Oh hey Cait! Just finishing up of good ol' Red over here. How's the buggy coming along?" She asked cheerfully.

"It's almost bile free! Just a few more spots and then we just let it air out." Cait said as he saluted Yuffie.

Reeve couldn't help but laugh at Cait Sith sometimes. He just did some random things that helped make his day.

"Awesomeness! So what was all the commotion about earlier?" She asked as she poured the last of the water over Red XIII.

"Oh not much, Aeris came back and Barret went with her. Oh, I'm pretty sure that Boto died." Cait said cheerfully.

"Oh that's- Wait what!" Yuffie shouted out.

"He died?" Red asked as he gave Cait as serious look.

"Well, not really. He just passed out in front of the buggy after Aeris brought him back is all." Cait said as he pointed to the other side of the buggy.

"Really? I wanna go see!" Yuffie said as she quickly took off to the other side of the buggy. Red just shook himself off.

"Kids these days. I swear they're getting more immature as time presses on." Red XIII said as he slowly walked to he other side of the buggy.

"You can say that again." Cait said as he followed Red. When they rounded the buggy Yuffie was kneeling down next to him poking him in the face with a stick.

"Yuffie, what are doing to him?" Red asked as he walked up to her.

"Look! It's like he really is dead! He's not even moving!' She shouted as she continued to poke him.

Reeve was constantly being surprised by this groups actions. For a terrorist organization they sure are... Care free, or at leas some of them. He actually, as odd as this sounds, liked watching the group.

"Leave the poor lad alone. It looks like he's had a rough day." Cait said as he hopped next to Yuffie.

"But it's so fun! Here, give it a try!" Yuffie said as she handed him the stick. Cait grabbed it and began to poke him. Reeve just started laughing.

"What do you know, it is pretty fun!" Cait said as he poked him some more. Red just stood in the background shaking his head.

"Hold on a sec, there's something that I've been wanting to see for a while now." Yuffie said as she reached into Boto's pocket. She then pulled out something out of his pocket. Neither Cait Sith nor Reeve could get a good look at it. Luckily, Cait Sith decided to go see what it was.

"What is that?" Cait asked curiously as he tried to get a better look.

"It's a really cool PHS that Boto has! IT does all sorts of neat tricks! Now that he's... Busy, I can finally look at it!" Yuffie said as she began to touch the screen. She stared at it for a little bit before touching it again. Nothing happened. She touched it again. Still nothing.

"What's wrong?" Cait asked.

"It's not working! The screen is still blank!" Yuffie said as she began to scribble her finger across the screen.

"Maybe there's a button you need to press on it in order to make it work?" Cait said. Reeve was getting interested in this new PHS. He had never seen one like it before.

"Oh, hm, let me try to fin one." She said. At first she pressed the button at the bottom of the PHS. Nothing happened. She seemed to get a little frustrated with it before looking for a new one. She then found one at the top. She pressed the button, still, nothing happened.

"Maybe you need to hold it down?" Cait suggested. Yuffie tried holding the button at the bottom of the front screen down first. Nothing happened. Then she tried it at the top. The screen finally turned on.

"Hey it worked! You're pretty smart!" Yuffie said as she dragged her finger across the bottom part of the PHS.

"Thanks!" Cait said. Reeve could tell that if Cait could, he would have patted himself on the back right now.

"What! A password! Low battery power! What a rip off!" Yuffie shouted as she started to press the screen some more. She did that a few more times.

"What! It's locking me out! What a rip off!" Yuffie shouted at the PHS.

"Shouldn't you be helping Boto instead of playing with his belongings?" Red asked

"Huh, oh, he's fine just look at him." Yuffie said as she continued to focus on the PHS. Boto laid in the same face down position, motionless.

"It's back up again!" Yuffie said as she began to press the screen again. Before she could finish, the screen went black. Yuffie froze as she stared at he dark screen. She tried to turn it back on but nothing happened. She tried it again. Still, nothing.

"It died!" She finally shouted. She was getting really frustrated with the PHS.

"Mind if I have a look at it?" Cait asked. Now was the perfect time to check out this new PHS.

"Do you think you can get it working?" Yuffie asked as she looked at Cait now. Cait looked over at Yuffie, then at Boto, then back to Yuffie.

"Sure I can." Cait said as he held out his paw.

"Make sure you do it quickly though! I want to find out what else he's hiding on there!" Yuffie said as she handed Cait the PHS. Now Reeve could examine this properly. Though he was going to have to find a way to turn it on.

"No problem!" Cait said cheerfully as he examined the PHS. This was definitely something Reeve had never seen before. It would take some time to figure just how it works. He was positive he could do so before Boto work up though.

"Awesome! Me and Poodle going to search for some fire wood. I have a feeling we'll be staying here for the night." She said as she looked over at the unconscious Boto.

"Please stop calling me Poodle." Red XIII said as he walked next to her. Yuffie ignored his request.

"Shouldn't you finish cleaning the inside of the buggy now?" Yuffie asked as she pointed to the buggy.

"Right! I'm all over it!" Cait said as he saluted again. He quickly handed the PHS to his moogle. He then turned around quickly and went straight for the buggy. He quickly scrubbed down the rest of the buggy, eager to examine the new PHS he had received.

Once he had finished he quickly took the PHS back and examined it. He saw a few ports on the PHS that looked like it could plug into something. He Cait opened a small little hatch that was on the back of the head of his moogle. He pulled out a wire and stuck it into the bottom of the PHS.

Reeve was hoping that this would work. When Cait Sith plugged it in nothing happened. Reeve frowned. Then the screen lit up. It showed an empty battery, it was slowly filling up with a green substance that looked like mako. It very well could be running on mako but then, why would it take electricity to charge instead of mako? He would have to think about this later.

Right now, Cait Sith was going to have to try to find out the password to get into his PHS. He was very surprised to find out that it was a touch screen. Cait slid the bar across and saw as the little number pad popped up. He had to enter in a four digit number. Reeve paused to think about this for a moment before having Cait Sith enter the first code that popped into his head.

1 2 3 4. Cait pressed them slowly. After doing so the screen slid away another screen appeared. A bunch of files were on it. Reeve grinned. He had a feeling that he was going to have plenty of fun looking through the files. He began to down lode the files to his computer.

Reeve had lost track of the time. He was at a loss of words for what he had just seen. He didn't know if what he had just seen was actually going to happen or if it is was just a movie. He had no idea really. He didn't even know if he should show anyone else it.

The down lode took thirty minuets. It was looking through the contents of what he had that took the longest time. At first he was going through the file labeled "Music." He had never heard the song on here before. Though he was never really into today's pop culture. He then stumbled across something rather interesting. One of the songs, like all of the other songs, had a picture on it. The title of the song was called "Redemption". On the cover for the song it had a picture of Genesis, though the information that the song gave said it was by a man named Gackt. Maybe Genesis had a hidden life as a rock star. He had no idea. Genesis was, unfortunately, dead. Therefor, he was not able to ask him.

He went into the file named "Videos" next. The first thing he decided to check out was the file named "Movies". He had noticed that there were only three. He looked through the three movies before he noticed one called "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete". He also saw a picture of Cloud, or what looked like Cloud, and Sephiroth as the cover for the movie.

"This is odd." He said as he went to click on the move.

Reeve was now sitting at the monitor of his computer, completely zoned out to the world around him. He had some many questions to ask but had no way of getting them. The movie he had watched answered some of them but left so many more questions. He had no idea what was going on but it still made sense to him. Cait Sith was thinking the same things as well. He knew this because he had he had built Cait Sith. They had so many questions to ask and the only one to ask and give them the answer they were looking for was still in front of the buggy knocked out.

But the question was, how was he going to ask him? Did he know that Cait Sith was a spy or was he completely clueless? Did he know what was going to happen in the future or did he just make a movie for fun? Each question lead to so many more. It was frustrating. Was Aeris really going to die like the movie had implied?

Cait decided to leave the buggy. It was already dark outside and the only person outside was Boto. He was still out like a light. Cait walked over to him and used his moogle to nudge him with it's foot. Maybe he could wake him up and ask him before anyone made it back to the buggy.

Boto didn't move. Cait nudged him again. Still, nothing. Reeve was starting to think that maybe he really dead when his thoughts where interrupted by Yuffie and Red XIII.

"It's like those monsters just pop up out of nowhere!" Yuffie shouted as she walked over to the buggy, carrying a bunch of fire wood.

"What took you guys?" Cait asked as he quickly stepped away from Boto.

"Well, we kept running into a bunch of monster! Since Poodle over here is lazy and didn't want to carry the fire wood I had to drop it so I could fight. Every time I dropped it it would be sent flying all over the place in the middle of the battle!" Yuffie said as she dropped the wood onto the floor.

"Yuffie, must I explain this to you again? I don't have hands! Therefor I can't carry the wood!" Red XIII said in and incredibly irritated tone.

"You know Red, excuses are like butts. Everyone has them and they all stink." She said as she started to put the wood into a neat little pile. Red XIII just sighed as he walked over to Cait Sith.

"Is he still asleep?" Red asked as he looked over at Boto.

"He's been sleeping like a baby the entire time." Cait said happily.

"Are you sure he isn't dead? He hasn't even moves form the spot since I last saw him." Red XIII said as he walked over to him.

"Hey! Are you guys going to let a babe like me do all the work around here!" Yuffie shouted as she started to light the fire wood.

"That child infuriates me." Red grumbled as he as he walked back over to Yuffie.

"I don't mind her." Cait said as he followed.

It was actually true. Reeve really didn't mind Yuffie. After dealing with thirty to forty year old coworkers who still thought that they were children, he was pretty used to it. He was pretty sure that it was Bob from accounting that had replaced his sugar with salt for his coffee.

Both Yuffie and Cait started setting up up the tents around the fire. IT didn't take them very long to set it up. When they had finished setting up the tesnt Yuffie sat down in front of the fire while Red XIII laid down on the other side. Cait stood next to him.

Yuffie then wuickly got up and walked over to where Boto was laying down.

"Yuffie, what are you doing now?" Red asked as he watched her kneel doown next to Boto.

"I'm borrowing some of his materia. I don't think he'll mind." She said as she took off his bangle.

"Let's see, he has a fire materia, it's still pretty weak. He has two summon materia and a werid looking yellow materia." She said out loud as she started digging around in his pockets.

She pulled out four blue orbs.

"Hey, does anyone remember what Boto called these blue ball things again?" She asked as she looked at the orbs.

"Yuffie, I would advise you to put those things away." Red XIII said as he saw Yuffie pressd a odd looking symble on one of the orbs.

"Awesome! Look at the blue flame on this... Hey it's stuck to my glove!" She said as she began to try and shake the orb off.

"Yuffie! That's a grenade!" Red quickly shouted as he jumped onto his feet. Cait quickl spun around to watch the now panicking Yuffie try to shake the grenade off her hand.

"It won't come off!" She shouted. Cait quickly ran up to her and grabbed her wrist. He pulled the glove off of her hand and threw it into tha air. It was only a second later that the grenade exploded

Reeve watched as the new weapon exploded into a blue flame in the air. He was suprised to see the weapon. Boto had many a lot of things up his sleeve.

"That was way to close for comfort!" Yuffie shouted as she sat down on the ground.

"No need to thank me. Just doing my job." Cait said cheerfully as he hopped back to the fire.

"Yuffie! What did I tell you!" Red shouted.

"What? I'm naturally curious." She said as she stood up. It was only a few seconds later that Cloud, Aeris, Tifa and Barret came ruuning out of the forest, ready to fight.

"What's going on!" Cloud shouted, buster sword already in hand. Everyone stopped and looked at the four that just charged out from the forest.

"Oh nothing. Just testing some of Boto's weapons is all." Cait said casually.

Reeve liked how Cait could just say something without sounding like anything happened.

"What do you mean 'testing out'. Yuffie was being an idiot and activated one of those grenades without thinking!" Red shouted, still a bit mad about the whole ordeal.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" Yuffie shouted back.

"You mean that's it?" Barret said as he lowered his gun arm.

"Yup. Cait said bluntly. Both Tifa and Aeris gave a sigh of relief as the relaxed.

"Next time, be careful." Cloud said as he pointed at Yuffie. Shee gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her head before retruning to the fire. Everyone lese gathered around it as well.

"So what did you guys find?" Cait was the first to ask. Cloud shurgged.

"Not much. It looks like Shinra is looking for really strong materia." Cloud said.

"How do you know that?" Cait asked.

"When we were investigating the destroyed mako reactor we saw one of the Turks and the woman named scarlet looking fro some." Cloud said.

"So that's where Tseng and Scarlet went." Reeve said out loud as he reached out and grabbed the cup of ccoffee that was next to the monitor.

"Where are we heded to next?" Red XIII asked. Cloud went silent. He grew a dark expresion on his face.

" Nibelheim." Cloud finally said. Tifa tilted her head down to try and hide a depressed look on her facce.

"Will we be able to stop at my hometown?" Cloud shrugged his shoulders. By the looks of it, he didn't feel like talking anymore. The group went silent again.

"Where's Boto?" Aeris broke the silence.

"He's over there sleeping still." Cait pointed to Boto. He was still laying on the ground, a few yards away from the fire.

"He still hasn't gotten up?" Barret asked.

"Nope, he's been in the same spot ever since Aeris dropped him there." Cait said blutnly.

Reeve was getting a little impatient on wait for Boto to wake up. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask.

"The guys a dumbass if you ask me" Barret said.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice." Aeris said.

"It's true, he's always babbling on about the dumbest stuff, always gettin' hurt, and he has that dumb grin on him." Barret said as he pointed at Boto..

"Come on guys, it's not nice to talk about some one behind their back." Aeris lectured.

"Well, to be fair, he is a reliable dumbass." Barret said. Everyone seemed to agree with Barret on that statement.

"He also knows how to fight." Red chimed in.

"Okay, let's get some food and decide who's going to take the first shift of the night." Tifa said as she started to pull out some food.

"I'll go ahead an take it." Cait Sithsaid as tifa handed him a bad of dried meat. He took a handful of it and passed it on. Since Cait Sith was a robot he really didn't know what to do with it. While no one was paying attention he quickly hid it in hos crown.

"I wonder what Cait Sith will do if with the food. He doesn't eat." Reeve said out loud befoe he took a sip of his coffee. He then quickly spit it out. Some one had switched out his sugar for salt again.

"Oh, looks like we have some dried peaches on us." Tifa said as she pulled out another bag.

"That will make a good dessert." Aeris said as Tifa passed the bag to her.

"What! That being a dessert! That's insane! Hold on a sec." Yuffie said as she quickly got up and ran over to Boto. She reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a bunch of chocolate bars. She then quickly ran back to the fire.

"Here, I grabbed one for each of us." Yuffie said as she handed them out.

"Boto wastes gil on chocolate?" Tifa asked as she took the chocolate bar.

"It's not waisting if we eat it!" Yuffie said as she started eating the chocolate bar.

"We can't wast gil on this stuff. I'm going to have to talk to him when he wakes up." Tifa said as she took a bite out of it.

"If you don't like it then don't eat it!" Yuffie said as she quickly swiped the chocolate bar from Tifa's hands.

"Hey! I was eating that!" Tifa protested.

"I thought you said that it was a waste of gil." Yuffie said as she stacked Tifa's chocolate bar on top of hers and took a big bite out of it.

"That doens't mean I'm not going to eat it!" Tifa shouted as she tried to get her cocolate bar back. Yuffie quickly dove out of Tifa's range and smirked.

"Give it back!" Tifa demanded.

"Nu-uh!" Yuffie said as she took another bire out of it. Tifa moved with incredible speed and tackled Yuffie to the ground. Both of them started trying to pry the chocolate bar out of eachothers hands.

"Both of you, stop fighting like children!" Aeris siad as she tried to break up the fight.

"Jus' let 'em be Aeris. Besides, they've already dropped the chocolate on the ground." Barret said as he pointed to the chocolate bars that were now covered in dirt. Both of them stopped fighting eachother and looked at the chocolate bars.

"Noooooo!" Yuffie shouted as she kicked Tifa and of her, causing Tifa to hit the ground hard. Yuffie then dove for the chocolate bars.

"Owww." Tifa said she she rubbed her head and stood up.

"Look at what you did!" Yuffie shouted out in dispair as she held up the dirt covered chocolate.

"What I did? You're the one that started it!" Tifa said as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Yuffie then threw the chocolate bar at Tifa. It hit her directly in the face. It even slowly slid off of her face leaving a trail of melted chocolate, dirt and grass. Everyone froze and watched in horror as Tifa slowly whiped the mess off of her face. She was glaring at Yuffie.

"Okay, just calm down Tifa. Let's just go back to sitting around the fire and relax." Cloud said, deciding to step in to see of he could make things better. He slowly walked over to Tifa. Tifa shifted her gave to Cloud. Cloud stopped dead in his tracks and put up his hands in defence. He then slwoly backed away.

Yuffie quickly started running away from Tifa. Tifa began chasing after her.

"I'm sorry Tifa! I'm sorry!" Yuffie shouted. Tifa stayed silent as she charged after her. Yuffie ran towards Boto and jumpped over him. Tifa was just jumping over him when suddenly Boto quickly lifted himself of the ground.

"Huh! What!" He shouted as he pushed himself up. Sadly, when Boto did that, Tifa was in mid jump and ended up crashing her legs right into Boto's side and Punisher. It was still on his back. Boto fell over onto his side as Tifa flew forwards and face planted into the ground.

"Guahhhhh!" Boto shouted as he was holding the side of his ribs. "What the Hel was that!" He shouted out in pain.

"Good job Boto! Tifa's going to kill you now!" Yuffie shouted. Boto slowly looked around the place with the most confused look on his face. He the spotted tifa lying on the ground.

"Aw crap." Boto said before quickly geting up. He walked over to Tifa.

"Hey Tifa, are you okay?" He asked as he knelt down next to her. Tifa didn't move. Boto slwoly poked her head.

"Tifa?" He said slowly. Suddenly Tifa's and shot up and grabbed Boto's wrist. She then quickly pulled him down, casuing Boto to face plant into the ground right next to her. Tifa slowly got and and walked over to the fire and sat down. No one said a thing.

"Why me?" They could here Boto goran as he laid on the ground.

Reeve was laughing really loudly and he tried his best to not fall out of his chair. This group of misfits was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He quickly calmed down and procedded to watch the group through the monitor.

Boto and Yuffie were already sitting down at the fire.

"Man, you were really tired." Yuffie said.

"Huh?" He asked, giving Yuffie a werid look.

"As soon as you came back to camp you passed out." Yuffie said point to the spot wheer he was sleeping.

"To be fair Yuffie, while we where in Corel Prison we where able to get some rest in the abandoned house." Aeris said.

"Ha, yeah. I didn't get any sleep." Boto said as he rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

"Told ya he has a dumb grin." Barret said silently.

"So, what did I miss?" Boto said as he looked around at everyone.

"Not much, Yuffie and Tifa just got into a fight over chocolate is all." Cait said as he went over to Boto.

"Chocolate? Does that mean..." He started digging around in his satchel. "Hey! Who stole my chocolate bars!" He shouted. He quickly looked over at Yuffie.

"What?" She said innocently. Boto just sighed. He then looked at hsi arm and sighed again. He started checking his pockets. When he was done with that he looked over at Yuffie.

"Alright, hand them over." Boto said as he held out his hand to Yuffie.

"Hand what over?" She said, trying to act innocent.

"My materia, my plasma grenades, and my PHS." Boto said, shoving his hand into her face.

"What makes you think that it was me!" Yuffie protested. Boto just continued to stare at her with his hand held out. She finally sighed and handed Boto his stuff.

"And the PHS." Boto said.

"You mean you don't already have it?" She asked, looking over to Cait Sith.

"Ah, I forgot to give Boto back his PHS." Reeve said out loud. He waited to see Boto's responce. Maybe he wouldn't care. Maybe Yuffie wouldn't say that Cait Sith had it. He still doesn't fully know if Boto even knows that Cait Sith is a spy. Let alone a robot.

"Uh-huh, right. Now hand it over." Boto said, holding out his hand again.

"No really, I don't have it! Cait Sith has it!" Yuffie said, pointing to Cait. Bot's faceial expression quickly turned to shock as he looked over at Cait Sith.

Reeve examine his facial expression as it went from shock back to normal withing a matter of seconds. Reeve knew that he was affraid that Cait Sith had found the infromation on here. The question is, what will he do now?

"Oh, ha ha, awesome." Boto said, trying to cover up his quick shock with nervous luaghter.

"I was able to get it rechrged for you." Cait said as he handed the PHS to Boto.

Reeve was going to try and find his answers tonight.

After everyone ate they went to the tents to get some sleep. Everyone except Cait Sith and Boto. Boto had volunteered to take the shift with CAit Sith since he had stayed up all night.

Reeve leaned into his monitor and waited for some one to start speaking.

"So" Cait Sith was the first one to speak. "That's quit a nifty PHS you have there." Cait Sith said as he looked at Boto. Boto looked over at him.

"Huh, oh yeah. It's prett neat... Did you happen to, ya know, see what was on it?" Boto asked nervously.

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty neat. I really liked the video called Advent Children Complete." Cait Sith said.

"So he decided to cut straight to the chase." Reeve said as he leaned closer to his monitor.

Boto's face had a serious look on it.

"So you saw the movie huh?" He said as he leaned closed to Cait Sith.

"Yup. So tell me, was that movie just a movie or was it more then a movie." Cait said, sounding very serious for once. Boto pasued and for a bit. He seemed to be thinking.

"It's more." He finally said.

"What do you mean?" Cait asked.

"What I mean is, that stuff is going to happen in two years." Bot said as he focused on Cait Sith.

"Then shouldn't you tell everyone else? I mean, you're lying to them right now by not telling them that you know so much more" Cait Sith said. Boto suddenly smirkd.

"Aren't you lying to them by not telling them that you're actually a spy for Shinra, Reeve Tuesti." Boto said.

"So, he does know about us." Reeve said as he leaned back. This looked bad for Reeve, Boto new about him, that compromised his entire plan. But then, why hadn't he told anyone in the group about it? This was puzzling to him.

"Why haven't you told anyone else yet?" Cait asked.

"Becasue I'm trying to make sure that things go a certain. If you haven't already guessed, I already know what the outcome of this whole little adventure." Boto said as he sat back a little.

"So then, does Aeris really die?" Cait Sith asked.

"Yes" Boto said as his eyes narrowed.

"Will you be able to stop it?" Cait asked, he was now leaning in closer. Bot shurgged.

"I don't really know how I can stop it. Though since you konw, you might be able to help me." Boto said, now smiling.

"Why are you telling me all of this? Aren't you affraid that I might report this to the president." Cait asked as he folded his arms.

"Ih yeah, I thought about it. The reason why I'm telling you this is because I don't think you will." Boto said, smirking again.

"Oh, why is that?" Cait asked.

"Becasue, both you and Reeve have seen the movei. Both of you know that Shinra almost destorys the planet. I konw both of you don't want that. So I'm going to make you an offer, you help us out and betray Shinra." Boto said, still smirking.

Reeve had bee thinking that what Shinra is doing was wring. And after seeing the movie, he saw that they almost destory The Planet.

"Alright, you have me in. I think Reeve will be in on this as well." Cait Sith said. Boto's smirk formed into a grin.

"Awesome. Good to have you abored the WRO." Boto said.

"WRO, I don't know what that is." Cait said as he scratched his head.

"Don't worry, you'll learn soon enough." Boto said.

"Hm, alright, I'll go with that. I have one final question for now." Cait said.

"Ask away." Boto said as he made a sweeping motion with his hand.

"How do you know this stuff?" Cait asked. Boto just laughed to a little before responding.

"Because Cait, I'm not from this world." Boto said as he grinned.

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><p><em>AN: Woo! Chapter sixteen id down! I hope you liked this one. I thought it would be fun to try something new for this chapter. Besides, it helped move the plot along. Remember to review! They really help motivate me when I read your reviews! See you all in the next chapter!_


	17. Chapter 17: Into The Canyon

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! If I did then there would have been an inter galactic war started between me and any rivaling company. **_

_A/N: Holy crap! This took a lot of work! I really hope you guys like this one. Right now I'm really itching to get to the plot that I plan on using but, I have to wait just like you guys. I'm so close yet so far away! Any way, this one is extra long._

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><p>Chapter Seventeen: Into The Canyon<p>

I woke up lying on the ground. The sun was just starting to come up. Cait Sith was still standing next to the fire. He was slouched over on his moogle. He seemed to be in some sort of sleep mode.

"Huh, weird." I said out loud as I stood up. I stretched my arms and walked around for a bit.

After I had told Cait Sith and Reeve that I was from another world Cait Sith just went silent.

"Really?" Cait Sith said after staying quiet for a bit. I just grinned.

"I thought you said that would be all the questions for now?" I asked. Cait Sith just continued to stare at me.

"Well then, it looks like I've changed my mind." Cait said as he folded his arms. I just laughed.

"Well alright then. Where do you want me to start?" I asked.

"From the beginning." He said as he looked directly at me. I leaned forward and told him everything up until this point. How in my world this was all a video game. How Jenova pulled me into this world wanting me to help her. I then explained to him my world. I pulled out my wallet and showed him all the stuff I had in it. Money, a debit card, a picture of me and my family and my license. I told him that I was living in my own in an apartment, going to college and having a job. He seemed very interested in what I had to say.

"So that's it in a nut shell. Any questions?" I said as leaned back a little.

"Loads of them. First of all, if this is all a video game, then what does it matter if we do anything?" He asked me.

"You see, I thought about that. I've come to the conclusion that, if this really is a video game then why am I hear? How can Jenova try to take over other worlds if this is just a video game?" I asked him. Cait just shrugged.

"Good point. So, you have Jenova inside of you? Like a SOLDIER has Jenova cells in them?" He asked.

"Hm, I don't think so. I really don't know how to describe it. It's like she's in my head, mentally. Other wise I would probably have different colored eyes instead of my beautiful brown eyes." I said in a very cocky tone. Cait just laughed.

It's good to know that someone around here appreciates my sense of humor.

"Okay, so should Reeve tell Shinra about you then? He needs to give a report soon." Cait said.

"Hrm, tell them What I told everyone else, my name is Robert Umble, I preferred to be called Boto, I don't remember my past." I said with a grin.

Oh, I can also use what Barret called you!" Cait said cheerfully.

"What would that be?" I asked.

"Er, never mind. It's best you don't know." Cait said as he looked away from me.

Yeah, chances are I don't want to know what it is.

"Any more questions?" I asked.

"Just a few more. Do you miss you're home?" He said as he smiled at me.

I leaned back a little and frowned.

"Yeah, I miss it. You know, I always thought it would be so fun to be in one of my favorite video games. To be able to actually talk to the main characters or have fun with them. Turns out, it isn't as great as it's all cracked up to be. Each battle you have a chance a dying. We're constantly on the move and even though I know what's going to happen, it's hard to keep up. Sometimes, I feel like a child all over again." I said in a depressed tone.

I've never stopped to think about this until now. But what I'm saying is true.

"Well, if it's of any consolation, any normal person would have cracked under the pressure by now." Cait said very cheerfully.

"That's then thing Cait, I am just a normal person. The only thing that makes me stand out and not have a mental break down is her." I said as I pointed to my head. Cait frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked as he tilted his head.

"What I mean is, she blocks out the crazy stuff that happens to me. It's like, I want to break down, I want to feel those emotions but something is just relaxing my mind. One time, she let some of it slip by. I broke down, to be honest, I didn't think I would ever recover but that relaxing feeling in my mind came. The thing about Jenova doing all of this is that she can enter my mind and speak to me. She can even enter my dreams and torture me because I don't listen to her. I'm afraid to go to sleep sometimes. You know what the scary thing about all of this is? In my dreams, I call her mother." I said as I looked Cait directly In the eyes. Cait just stared directly back at me.

"Can she take control of you're body?" He said, sounding very serious.

"As far as I know, no." I said.

"Why don't you get some rest then. Don't worry about the Jenova either. If it comes down to it, me and this moogle will get rid of her." Cait said cheerfully as he put up his paws and started boxing the air. His moogle did the same thing. I just laughed a little.

"Thanks Cait. I'll keep that I mind." I said as I laid back and closed my eyes.

"Man, I still can't believe that Reeve was so willing to help me out. I guess watching Advent Children really changed his mind." I said out loud to my self as I walked over to Cait Sith.

Hrm, I wounder if I could wake him up...

I began to poke Cait Sith in the face.

"Wow, he feels pretty furry." I said out loud as I poked him in the face. At first, there was no reaction. Then, his head instantly shot up. Both he and his moogle seemed to jump to life. At first he looked around the place looking very confused. Then he looked over at me and saluted, he moogle did the same thing.

"Cait Sith reporting for duty." He said with a smile on his face. His moogle had one as well.

"So, sleeping on the job huh?" I said as I put my arms behind mt back and paced back and forth. Cait but down his arms and gave me a sad look.

"But I had to recharge." Cait said defensively.

"Not good enough! F minus minus for the day!" I said as I paced back and forth.

To be honest, I just felt like messing with Cait right now. I don't really know why.

"What! F minus minus!" Cait shouted as he put his paws up, looking like he was ready to fight.

"So you want to fight? Well they don't call these the potato mashers for nothin!'" I said, using my best Irish accent as I put my fists up.

"I'll make you go runnin' to your mother!" Cait shouted out in his Scottish accent.

"I'll teach you a lesson or two in politics you ignorant Pagan!" I shouted back in my Irish accent.

"What are you two fightin' about!" Barret shouted as he stormed out of his tent. Cait Sith and I stopped and looked around. We had woken everyone up with out fighting.

"It's a but to early for this." Tifa said drowsily as she stood outside of her tent. Both Cait Sith and I looked around at everyone before busting up laughing.

"What's so funny?" Yuffie asked as she looked at both of us.

"Ya know, I really don't know." I said as I calmed my laughter down. Everyone just gave both of us weird looks.

"Okay, enough dilly dallying. It's time to pack up our stuff and head out." Cloud said as he started tearing down his tent. My ears cringed at the words 'Dilly Dally'.

So it's not just Tifa and Aeris that just say it. I'm definitely going to have to change that.

When he had finished packing everything we grabbed something to eat really quickly. We then tried to decided who was going to ride inside the buggy and who was going to ride on top of the buggy.

"Okay, it's decided that, for safety reasons, that Yuffie is going to ride on top of the buggy." Cloud said as he looked around the group. Yuffie just crossed her arms and pouted at the statement.

"Now then, we could still use a gunner on top, so Barret and Boto, you two decided which one of you will be doing that." Cloud said as he pointed at us. Barret and I looked at each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Both of us quickly shouted as we played the game. I threw paper while Barret punched me in the stomach with his gun arm.

"Gun beats all of 'em" Barret said as he walked over to the buggy and hopped on top of it. I was on my knees holding my stomach, he knocked the wind out of me.

"Boto! Are you okay?" Aeris said as she knelt down next to me. I gave her a weak grin and the thumbs up.

"I'll be fine. I just have to think of a way to get back at Barret." I said as I slowly stood back up. Aeris didn't look to convinced but nodded her head and walked over to the buggy.

Guahhhh Barret's going to pay big time for this.

I walked over to the buggy. We had been letting it air out all night so it actually didn't smell to bad. It was tolerable. This time, we were going to keep the hatch open at all times.

The seating arrangements were almost the same as before. Cloud was driving, Aeris and Tifa were up front, Red, Cait Sith and I were in the back. And Yuffie and Barret were on top of the buggy. Cloud started the engine and took off, slowly this time.

Even though we had Cait Sith and his moogle in the trunk with us, it was still pretty roomy back their so I was able to kick back and relax.

"Where did you say we were going again?" Cait asked as he looked over to Cloud.

"We'll be passing through the mountains and heading for Nibelhiem." Cloud said as he pointed to the up coming mountains.

"And right past Cosmo Canyon." Red said to himself quietly.

"Don't worry Red, I'm pretty sure we'll be stopping by." I said as I looked over at him. He looked back at me, giving me a weird look.

"What makes you say that?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Just a hunch." I said. Cait looked at me. He gave me a weird look as well.

It wasn't too long before the Buggy started sending off a bunch of static charges.

"The Hells' that?" Barret shouted from above.

"I don't know. I think somethings wrong with the engine!" Cloud shouted back. The engine made a very loud exploding sound, shaking the entire buggy. This resulted in knocking everyone forward and sending Yuffie and Barret flying off of the roof. Everyone got out of the buggy to investigate the damage.

"Oh man, a breakdown now? Cloud said as he observed the damage.

"Owwwwww!" Yuffie shouted off in the distance. She had landed face first into the ground. Barret had landed on his gun arm.

"The Hell man? That hurts!" Barret shouted out. No one seemed to be really paying any attention to them.

"Do you think you can get it back up an running?" Aeris asked as she walked next to Cloud. Cloud place his hand over his mouth and shook his head.

"Well, you know what they say. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Cait Sith said cheerfully.

Okay okay okay, I'm not going to lie, I have been totally wanting to use this line in a conversation. Now would be the perfect time to.

"What! That's bullcrap! When life gives you lemons don't make lemonade!" I shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I continued.

"Make Life take the lemons back! Get mad! You look at life and shout, 'I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these!' Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Robert Umble lemons! Do you know who I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm going to get the Shinra engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" I shouted as I pointed to the sky, assuming that the sky was life.

Everyone just stared at me with very confused looks on their faces.

Okay, this could have gone better. Well, at least I got to use that line.

"Okay, Boto, I think you need to just sit and try not to hurt your self." Aeris said, in a very calming tone. I just put my head down and walked away.

"I know! We can head to my home! Cosmo Canyon!" Red XIII said very excitedly.

"That sounds like a great idea!" I butted in. Everyone looked over to Cloud.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. Looks like we're heading to Cosmo Canyon." Cloud said. Red ran straight to the head of the party.

"Come on! This way!" He shouted as he lead the way. I fell to the back of the group. I noticed that Cait followed me.

"You knew that the buggy was going to break down." He said, more of a statement then a question.

"Yup." I said as I put my arms behind my head.

"How much do you know?" He asked.

"I told you already, I already know the outcome of this whole situation. I know what happens in between and even after wards. I'll fill you in on the details later." I said as I tired to stay quiet. Cait just nodded his head.

The walk to Cosmo Canyon wasn't very long. Red XIII ran as fast as he could up the steps when we had reached Cosmo Canyon.

"I am home! It is I, Nanaki!" He shouted when he reached the top of the steps.

"Hey, Nanaki! You're safe! Come on, and say hello to Bugenhagen!" The man at the entrance said to Nanaki. Nanaki ran straight past him.

"Nanaki?" Cloud asked.

"Take a wild guess cowboy." I said ou loud to my self.

"Cosmo... Canyon? I wonder if there's any relation to the planet or the Ancients..." Aeris said as she began to go deep into thought.

"Red seems different, doesn't he?" Tifa said. Cloud walked over to the man and started talking to him.

"Welcome to Cosmo Canyon. Are you familiar with the land?" The man asked. Cloud just shook his head.

"Oh, well let me explain. People from all over the world gather here to seek the Study of Planet Life." The man said with a smile.

"Woooooooooo!" Barret yelled out as he threw his arms into the air. It took everyone one by surprise, including me.

"I always wanted to come here!" Barret shouted out with joy as he pounded his chest.

"Ummgah!" The man said nervously. "It's full capacity at present, so I'm afraid I can't let you in here." He said the last part rather quickly as he ducked behind his arms. I'm guessing he's afraid that Barret is going to attack him for saying such blasphemous words.

Instead, Barret just let his body hang back in depression.

Nanaki came running back to the man.

"They helped me out some while I was on the road. Please let them in." He told the man before running back up the stairs he had just came down.

"Oh, is that so? You helped out Nanaki? Please, come in." The man said as he stepped aside.

"Who is Nanaki?" Cloud asked as he scratched his head.

"Nanaki is Nanaki. That's his name." The mane said. Cloud just shrugged. I saw Barret do a fist pump with his gun arm. He was giddier then a little school girl as he practically skipped into Cosmo Canyon. The rest of the group followed. All of us traveled up the steps to where Nanaki was waiting for us.

"Here is where I was... I mean... This is my hometown." Nanaki said as he stared longingly at the observatory.

"My tribe were protectors of those who appreciate this beautiful canyon and the Planet. My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her... I am the last of my race." Nanaki said with bitterness in his voice.

Huh, since I'm the only Mexican American on this planet, does that make me the last of my race as well?

"Cowardly father?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. My father was a wastrel. And so the mission I inherited from my ancestors, is to protect this place. My journey ends here." Nanaki said as he looked at the whole group.

"Hey! Nanaki! You're home!" Some one off in the distance shouted. I would assume that it was Bugenhagen.

"Coming Grandpa!" Nanaki said excitedly as he booked it up the stairs.

"That's perfect. Why don't we tale a break here too? We can meet back here in a while, okay" Tifa said as she looked at the whole group. Everyone agreed to that. I started walking down the stairs. I turned around and saw Cloud follow after Nanaki.

Meh, I'll let him deal with Bugenhagen. Man, that's such a weird name.

I walked down the steps and noticed that Cait Sith was following me. I let him catch up to me when I reached the bottom of the steps.

"So, is Red really leaving us?" Cait asked when he caught up.

"Nah, he'll still be in the group." I said with a grin.

"Oh, okay. Are we going to get any other members in the group?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh yeah, we get two more. Ones named Vincent Valentine and the other is Cid Highwind. Vincent is a Turk from thirty years ago. You may want to do a bit of research on him. And Cid is the pilot for a rocket. You also may want to look him up as well." I said as both of us started walking to the Cosmo Candle.

"Will do!" Cait said as he saluted me.

"Now then, it's time to see a man about our broken down buggy." I said as I walked towards the guy standing near the Cosmo Candle.

"Hello, have you come to seek the study of the Planet?" The man asked me when I waked up to him.

"Not really, actually, out buggy broke down and I was told that you can take a look at it for us." I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Oh, no problem. I'll take a look at it for you. Why don't you explore the rest of Cosmo Canyon?" He said as he patted me on the back and walked away.

"No that we have that taken care of I'm going to go sit down by the fire." I said to Cait Sith as he followed me. I sat down in front of the fire and waited. The sun was already staring to go down so it was actually getting a bit chilly out.

It wasn't long before I saw Nanaki running down the stairs. He took off into the village. Cloud came down not too long after.

"Hey Cloud! What'cha up to?" I shouted over to them. Cloud looked at me and Cait Sith and walked over to us.

"I was looking for a couple of people to take with me into the observatory. Would both of you like to join me?" Cloud asked.

Hrm, as much as I would love to go up and see it, I think Aeris and Barret would appreciate it more then I would since both of them are really big on the Planet.

"Nah, I'll pass. Though I'm sure Aeris and Barret would love to see what's up there." I said as I leaned back. Cloud just shrugged.

"Suit yourself." He said as he walked away to find Aeris and Barret. Cait looked at me with a bit of a weird look.

"Why'd you pass that up?" He asked.

"Sorry Cait, but I think it's better for those two to go see it. Besides, we can probably go see it on our own time." I said as I patted him on the shoulder. He grinned.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I've already been here before. Reeve took me here after he first made me" He said with a smile

"Really? Huh, awesome." I said.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie said as she quickly ran up next to us.

"Yo!" I shouted back. Yuffie quickly sat down next to Cait Sith.

"So, you'll never guess what I found! Go ahead guess!" She said very excitedly.

"You found the meaning of life." I said in a very dramatic tone as I held up my fist.

"Nope, even better!" She said very excitedly.

"Materia?" Cait asked cheerfully.

"Nope, I found materia!" She said as she held out a small orb. Both Cait and I started laughing.

"What?" She asked as she looked at both of us very confused.

"What kind of materia is it?" I asked after I finally stopped laughing.

"It's a haste materia. I found it lying around is some guys store behind the counter." She said as she examined it.

Huh, I may be able to use that haste materia.

"Hey Yuffie, hows about a little trade? My Shiva summoning materia for your haste?" I said as I pulled out my Shiva materia. Yuffie's eyes widened with shock.

"Really! A summon for a regular old materia! Deal!" She shouted. She practically jumped over Cait to switch me materia. When she did I examined the haste materia, it was a level one. I slid it into my bangle.

"Wow! My first summon materia!" Yuffie said excitedly.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked curiously as she walked up to the fire and sat down on the other side of it.

"Boto just traded me a summon materia for a crappy regular one!" Yuffie said as she examined her new materia.

"Wow, that was generous of him." Tifa said as she looked over to me, giving me a weird look. I shrugged.

"Meh, I never use that one. Besides, I think this one might be a bit more useful." I said. That and I also still have my Ifirit summon.

"So, where's everyone else at?" Tifa asked.

"I have no idea where Nanaki is." I said looking over at Tifa.

"Nanaki? Yuffie asked.

"Yeah, you know, Red XIII. From what I've been able to gather, that's his name." I said, looking over at Yuffie now.

"Oh, makes sense." Yuffie said.

"As for Cloud, Aeris and Barret, they went into the observatory." I said, now looking back at Tifa.

"Oh, okay. Cloud always seems to be with Aeris." Tifa said with a smile, looking up at the observatory.

Ah, right, the whole love triangle thing. Almost forgot about that.

"Man, this place got boring fast!" Yuffie said. I just looked at her and then laid down, looking up at the stars.

"Hello everyone, sorry it took me so long. I was visiting everyone." Nanaki said as he walked up to the fire and sat next to Tifa.

"Wa'sup?" I said as he sat down.

"Are the other three still at the observatory?" He asked. I nodded my head. It wasn't long before the rest pf them came back down. Aeris sat down next to me while Barret sat across from her. Cloud started walking around, talking to every one. He started with Aeris. He sat down next to her.

"I learned a lot. The elders taught me many things. About the Cetra... And the Promised Land... I'm... Alone... I'm all alone now..." Aeris trail off, she had a hint of depression in her voice. She was trying to cover it up by sounding normal but it wasn't working to well.

Aeris, join the club. Nanaki is the last... what ever he is... Well, actually he isn't. He does have kids in the future. Well I'm the first and last Mexican American, so that counts for something.

""But I'm... We're here for you, right?" Cloud asked, trying to sound reassuring.

" I know. I know, but... I am the only... Cetra." Aeris said as she trail off.

"Does that mean we can't help?" Cloud asked. Aeris just looked away.

"Don't worry Aeris, you're still not alone. The other Cetra are still with you. There just in the Planet is all." I said, trying my best to sound reassuring.

"I guess." She said, putting on a weak smile.

Cloud got up and walked over to me next. He sat down.

"So, you have any of your memories back?" Cloud asked.

"Huh? Oh, nope." I said with a grin. I looked over at him.

"Anything you can tell me about your past?" He asked, looking at me now.

What's this? Cloud's taking an interest in me? I'm flattered.

"Well, let's see, I remember the empty lot next to my house, I remember a lake... Man, this is a lot harder then I thought." I said as I tired to think.

"To remember you're forgotten past?" Cloud asked.

Actually, the hard thing was trying to remember the unimportant stuff and use that as the bits and memories of my past.

"Yup, sounds about right." I said as I laughed. Cloud just nodded his head and moved on to Cait Sith.

"I wonder how many years it's been... Gosh, it brings back memories..." Cait trailed off. Cloud quickly moved on to Yuffie.

"What a boring place, just like I thought. I wanna go somewhere! Let's go fins some materia!" She said excitedly.

"Jeez, calm down Yuffie. We're taking a break right now." I said, still looking up at the stars.

"The master ninja Yuffie needs no break!" Yuffie said as she punched the air. Cloud just moved on to Barret, He sat down next to him.

Cosmo Canyon... This's where AVALANCHE was born... I promised the guys someday... When we saved the planet from Shinra, that we'd all go to Cosmo Canyon to celebrate... Biggs... Wedge... Jessie... Now they're all gone... Died for the planet." Barret said as he looked into the fire. I continued to look up at the stars. I wasn't able to save them from the plate falling. So far, I haven't changed anything except for getting a Turk mad at me. Also, getting Reeve to join is early but I don't know how much help that will be right now.

Really? To save the planet?" Barret continued. "We all... We all hate the Shinra... Do I even get to go on? Will they... Will they ever forgive me?" Barret looked down and shook his head.

"Right now, I really don't know. But I do know one thing." Barret said as he lifted his head back up." "If there's anything I can do to save the planet or the people livin' on it, then I'm gonna do it! I don't care it it's for justice or revenge, or whatever. I don't care... let 'em decide for 'emselves." Barret stood up.

"Urrrrrgh! I'm gonna do it!" He shouted as he pounded his chest. The whole group looked at him.

Again... Again... AVALANCHE's born again!" Barret shouted.

"Yeah! Get some!" I shouted he I stuck my fist into the air.

I'm not going to lie, I was very motivated by his speech.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Barret shouted before he sat down. Cloud quickly got up and sat next to Tifa.

"Cloud... Bonfires are funny, aren't they? They make you remember all sorts of things. You know, Cloud. Five years ago..." Tifa trailed off. Cloud nodded his head, signaling her to continue.

"It's nothing. No, forget it. I'm afraid to ask..." She trailed off again.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"It feels like... It feels like you're going far away... You really, really are... you... right?" She asked as she gave Cloud a worried look. Both of them went silent before Cloud got up.

Actually, right now a huge part of him thinks he's Zack. So to answer you question Tifa, no, he's not really him.

Cloud walked over to Nanaki and sat down next to him.

"Long ago." Nanaki began.

In a galaxy far far away... Yeah, I'm a nerd.

"When I was still very small. We were all around this flame... No, never mind..." Nanaki trailed off.

'What happened?" Cloud asked.

"It's about my parents. When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy... And that's fine. But when I remember my father, my heart is full of anger..." Nanaki trailed off.

Wait for it, wait for it...

"You really can't forgive you're father?" Bugenhagen said. I looked over to my left and saw him.

Holly crap man! I forgot, this guy flies or something!

"Of course... He left mother for dead." Nanaki said with bitterness in his voice.

Dude, does nobody care that this guy is friggin flying!

"When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the canyon!" Nanaki said, he sounded very angry.

Holy crap! This guy is floating right next to my head! It's so creepy but awesome at the same time!

"Come, Nanaki. There's something you should see." Bugenhagen said. Red looked at him with a puzzled look in his face.

I wonder, if I were to put my hand underneath him, would it disrupt his floating and make him fall?

"The place may be dangerous." Bugenhagen said, he floated away from me.

Aw man, now I'll never know.

"Cloud, will you and the young man who is wondering how I'm flying come with us." Bugenhagen said as he floated away. I instantly shot up.

"Huh, what? How did you know...?" I trailed off.

"Ho ho hoooo, I could tell by the look in your eyes. And for future references, I'm meditating." Bugenhagen said with a smile. Cloud stood up and looked at both me and Nanaki.

"Okay, get your stuff together you two. We head out in five." Cloud said as he grabbed all of his stuff. The three of us gather all of out weapons and materia. I was equipped with a fire, which was actually now level two. I hadn't noticed that. It was the same size as the one I took from Reno now. I also had my new haste, Ifirit, and Cloud handed me a cover materia. I assume it was a joke since I'm getting hit all the time. It took it anyway.

Cloud had another fire materia on him, a lightning materia, deathblow, and the Titan summon. Everything except his Titan materia was a level two now. Nanaki had the poison, which was now level two. A steal, level two as well, the cure materia, Aeris let him borrow that one, it was close to lever three. And a long range materia, that was level two as well.

"Everyone ready? Good, follow me then." Bugenhagen said as he lead the way. The three of us followed him. On our way out everyone wished us good luck.

"Grandpa, where are we going?" Nanaki asked.

"Ho ho hoooo, in dues time Nanaki, in due time. By the way, young man, I never had the chance to get your name." Bugenhagen said.

"Me?" I said as I pointed to my self.

"Ho ho hoooo, of course you." Bugenhagen said.

"Oh, well my name is Robert, just call me Boto." I said.

"Boto, hm, very interesting." Bugenhagen said.

Interesting? This guy confuses me.

We finally reached our destination. It was a metal door.

"Ho ho hoooo, are we all set?" Bugenhagen asked.

"Yeah, we're all ready." Cloud said.

"Ho ho hoooo, shall we go?" Bugenhagen said as he turned around. He flipped open the lid on a metal container and, what looked like, a scanner came out of it. A red dot lit up on it and it seemed to scan his hand. Suddenly a blue light lit up at the top of the door, the door then opened.

"Al right. Come on in, come on in." Bugenhagen said as he hurried us into the door.

"Hey, aren't you going with us Grandpa?" Nanaki asked.

"What, are you crazy? It's dangerous in there. I told you that! Bugenhagen said as he pointed inside of the door.

Yup, crazy like a fox... Yeah, I really have to come up with better jokes.

"You want an old man like me should go in first? I'll be right behind you." Bugenhagen said as he traveled to the back of the group. All of us walked into the entrance. We started to go down a bunch of ropes and ladders. Cloud had to carry Nanaki down them while Bugenhagen carried Cloud's buster sword.

The lower we went the heavier the air was. It started to smell really bad down their to, like something died and stayed down there for years.

"It smells terrible down here." I said as when reached the bottom.

"Ho ho hoooo, it truly does." Bugenhagen said. Cloud covered his nose.

"Come on, the sooner we find what's down here the quicker we can leave here." Cloud said as he led the way.

"Agreed." Nanaki said.

Ouch, poor Nanaki, he can't cover his nose.

Cloud led us forward into the cave. We started going into random cave entrances to find a way to go deeper. The jerk Bugenhagen wouldn't tell us rock we needed to flip over in order to open the door. Luckily for me, I already know which one it is. I walked into it and flipped the rock over. I heard a door slide open up ahead.

"Now who opened the door?" Bugenhagen asked. Both Cloud and I shrugged while Nanaki just looked around.

"Ho ho hoooo, so that's how it is." Bugenhagen said as he floated to the door. He then turned around and looked at us.

"Everyone here's a Ghost of the Gi tribe. Killed in a certain battle." Bugenhagen said.

"A certain battle?" Nanaki asked.

"The vengeful spirits of the Gi tribe didn't disappear, and couldn't return to the life stream. We still have far to go. Ho ho hoooo." Bugenhagen said as he traveled to the back of the group again. Cloud led the way.

When we walk into the other part of the cave it became significantly hotter. It was much brighter in it as well. Mostly due to the fact that at the very bottom of the cave was magma. I stepped close to a ledge and pulled out a chocolate bar. I noticed that my stash had dwindled down to nine.

"Boto, what are you doing?" Cloud asked as he walked over to me.

"I never get to see lava, or is it magma? I think it's magma... Any way, I've never seen this stuff before. So, I'm going to see how hot it is." I said as I unwrapped the chocolate bar. I took a big bite out of it and dropped it into the magma. The chocolate bar burst into flames before it even hit the bottom.

"Dude, that was the coolest thing I've seen all day!" I said after the chocolate bar hit the magma.

"Quit wasting time. We need to keep moving." Cloud said as he started walking forward.

Jerk

"Ho ho hoooo, I agree, we should move as quickly as possible before we run into some trouble." Bugenhagen said. And as though it were on cue, a group of four snakes slithered towards us. Bugenhagen floated out of their reach while the rest of us readied our selves for the fight.

"All right, class is in session! Everyone take your seats! Dammit Billy, that means you!" I shouted out as I opened fire at the closest snake. It kept moving side to side so it was able to doge most of my bullets. The few that did hit it didn't have much of an affect. As it got closer Cloud jumped up and stabbed it in the back. The second snake reared up and lunged at Cloud.

Nanaki quickly dove at it and bit it's neck. The third one tried to attack Nanaki. I quickly pumped it full of led. The forth one attacked me from the back. It quickly bit my leg and wrapped its self around me. I used my fire materia to burn it off.

"Guah! Son of a- That hurt!" I said as it flopped around on the ground before dieing.

"Boto, are you okay?" Nanaki asked?

"Yes, tis nothing but a flesh wound." I said in a British accent.

"Boto! Catch!" Cloud said as he tossed me a vile.

"What's this?" I asked as I examined it.

"It's an X-potion. Use it wisely." Cloud said.

Oh, I'm gonna use this wisely alright!

I pulled out a potion and drank that instead. The wound on my leg started to heal but stopped half way. I raised my eyebrow at it as I pulled out another one and drank that. My leg fully healed after the second one.

Man, I'm gonna have to ask someone how these potions work.

"Ho ho hoooo! I can see that you have grown stronger Nanaki. And your friends aren't to shabby either." Bugenhagen said as he floated back down.

"Let's move. There's bound to be more of them." Cloud said as he kept his sword drawn. We pressed forward. We ran into more of the snakes and some freaky looking black deformed god things. I really can't remember the names of them. Nor do I care to for the simple fact that they want to kill me. It wasn't to hard to take them down. I stayed in the back and gunned them down while Cloud and Nanaki charged in and attacked them.

"As you can see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon." Bugenhagen said out of the blue, he continued. "It's unfortunate that the Gi were larger then us. If they attacked through here, we wouldn't have stood a chance." Everyone just stared at him in silence.

"Let's move on." He said as he pointed forward.

Man, so demanding.

After find our way through the maze of tunnels we came to the spot I had been dreading ever since we walked into the cavern. The huge friggin spider that was blocking our path.

I had thought of multiple ways on how to deal with this thing. What I had been able to come up with was this, blow it up. Blow it up with my rocket launcher and make sure that it wouldn't be able to see the light of day.

I really hope my plan works, I friggin hate spiders and bugs and anything that you could wake up and find it ha;f eaten in your mouth.

"Wait, what's that?" Cloud pointed to the giant web up ahead. On it was the giant spider that made said web. I shuddered.

"What ever it is, I'm going to kill it." I said as I readied the rocket launcher on Punisher.

"Wait, you don't know what it's capable of." Nanaki said as he looked at me then at the spider.

"Nope, and I'm not about to find out." I sad as I pulled the trigger. The rocket flew out of the barrel and directly at the spider. Sadly, the spider dodged it by jumping off of the web and ducking low to the ground. The only thing I managed to do was piss the thing off.

"Here it comes!" Cloud shouted as it charged. Cloud was the first one to attack. He dashed forward and swung his sword at it. It quickly dodged and smacked Cloud with one of it's legs. Nanaki charged in right after that. The spider tried to attack him using it's legs but Nanaki was able to move in between them quickly. It was almost like he was gliding with how fast he was moving. A blue energy started forming around Nanaki. He was using his limit break, Sled Fang. He charged forward and leaped into he air. Nanaki dove at the spider, he hit the side of it though it almost seemed like he went straight through it. He landed with ease on the other side. The spider was still standing.

It didn't take Cloud to long to recover. When he did he stood in the same place for a moment. His sword started to glow. He slashed at the spider, sending out a wave from his sword. He just used his limit break, Beam Blade. The beam traveled fast and hit the spider dead on. Sadly, it still wasn't dead.

I was in the back pulling out my pistols. While we were fighting a pack of those dogs one of them rammed into me. I felt a surge of energy go through me. In my mind a saw flashes of if guns being fired and a ball of energy being shot from them. I now have three limit breaks.

After the spider recovered from Clouds attack I quickly aimed my pistols at the spider. I focused my energy into my hands. I pulled the triggers on both of the guns and unloaded them into the spider, save for one bullet in each gun. I then reared my guns back and charged them up. Two red orbs formed at the end of each of them. I then pointed the pistols back at the spider. And just to keep up the tradition with the move, I yelled the catch phrase at the end of it.

"Jackpot!" I yelled as I pulled the triggers on the gun. The bullets flew out of the barrels, catching the red robs as they flew out. Both of them hit the spider. This time, the spider was down and out for the count. I just pulled of the move "Million Dollars".

"Ho ho hoooo, well done everyone, well done." Bugenhagen said when the fight was over.

"Woo! I just shot my biggest fear in the face!" I shouted out as I threw my hands in the air in victory.

"You're afraid of spiders?" Cloud asked as he gave me a weird look.

"Shut up and start walking." I said as I glared at him. As we pressed forward the air became heavier and the smell became stronger.

"This warrior went through the cave all alone." Bugenhagen started saying. "Fighting attackers one after another..." He trailed off.

"Grandpa... This warrior..." Nanaki said as he looked at Bugenhagen curiously.

"Ho ho hoooo, we're almost there." Bugenhagen said as he shooed us deeper into the cave. We eventually came to where Gi Nattak was.

"What is this...?" Bugenhagen said as he examined the face on the wall.

"Grandpa, is he...?" Nanaki said, to shocked to finish his sentence.

"After death... The ghost of the GI... Like stagnant air... This... Can't be!" Bugenhagen shouted out in surprise.

Yeah yeah yeah, just bring on the thing so I can throw a potion at it!

Suddenly the face on the wall started to move. It quickly formed into our enemy. It quickly charged at us.

"Nanaki! I want you to- Boto! What the Hell are you doing!" Cloud shouted at me. I was pulled out the x-potion he had given me and getting ready th throw it.

"Don't worry, I've got this one!" I shouted as I threw the x-potion. I sailed through the air. It went right over my target and straight into the magma below. I stood frozen in my spot with wide eyes.

"Why did you just throw that!" Cloud shouted as Gi Nattak was getting ready to send one of it's flames at us.

Okay, calm down, you have a plan B. Phoenix downs!

I quickly pulled out a phoenix down. I then threw it directly at Gi Nattak. Sadly, he just quickly moved to the side. The phoenix down sailed right past him and into the magma below. My eye twitched at the sight of it.

"Son of a- You know what! Screw this noise! I'm getting in close!" I shouted out as I pulled out another phoenix down. I focused on my haste materia and let it's energy flow threw me.

I looked up at Gi Nattak and saw that he was casting fire at me. I quickly dogged it and charged at him.

"Boto! Get back here!" Cloud shouted at me. I ignored him and charged forward. Thanks to the haste materia I was going so much more faster.

When I was close enough I jumped into the air and smashed the phoenix down into Gi Nattak. I fell down and landed on my side. Gi Nattak let out a roar of pain as he quickly faded away. When he faded away the air quickly became lighter and the heavy smell left.

"Booyah grandma!" I shouted after I stood back up. I pretend to roll a pair of dice underhandedly when I said it.

"Thank you, Cloud and Boto. Because of you, we survived." Bugenhagen said as he floated to us.

That's right, you better be thanking me old man! I deserve a medal, or a pizza, or a pizza medal. Yeah, that sounds good.

"Nanaki, you have grown strong too." Bugenhagen said.

"Oh yeah?" Nanaki said with hope and pride in his voice.

"Now I know that it wasn't a mistake bringing you here. Come, I have something I want to show you." Bugenhagen said as he lead the way now. All of us followed him. I picked up the gravity materia that was left behind.

All of us walked into the new opening of the cave. On the way put I picked up the gravity materia and stuck it into my pocket. The new opening lead us outside.

Nanaki quickly ran ahead of us and started jumping up the rocked that were piled up.

"This is..." Nanaki trailed off as he looked up. Cloud and I looked up as well.

"...The warrior who fought against the Gi tribe." Bugenhagen finished for him. All of us looked back and saw him floating in behind us.

"He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon." Bugenhagen continued.

"But he was never able to return to town. Look, Nanaki. Look at your father, the warrior, Seto." Bugenhagen said as he pointed up at Seto.

All of us looked up again and saw Seto standing at the edge of a cliff, completely turned to stone with arrows sticking out of him. He was facing the full moon, still ready to fight.

"That's... That's... Seto?" Nanaki said with shock and sorrow in his voice.

"Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here. To protect this canyon. Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone. Even after they all ran away. Seto continued to protect us. And he continues to protect us now." Bugenhagen said with pride in his voice.

"Even now...?" Nanaki said as he looked up at his father.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away. But he alone risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father, Seto."Bugenhagen said as he pointed to Seto.

"That... That is Seto! Did mother know?" Nanaki said as he turned to face Bugenhagen.

"Ho ho hoooo, She knew. The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not tell a soul." Bugenhagen said.

Way to keep a promise dude.

"They said we should forget about this cave." Bugenhagen said. Nanaki bowed his head in silence. Bugenhagen then turned to me and Cloud.

"Cloud, Boto, would you mind leaving the two of us alone?" Bugenhagen asked. Cloud nodded his head.

"No problem." I said as I walked back to the cave. Cloud followed me into the cave.

"I think they'll be there for a while. Let's go ahead and head back to the bonfire." I said to Cloud when we entered the cave.

"Boto, how did you know to use a phoenix down on the monster we fought earlier?" Cloud asked, completely ignoring what I had just said.

Crap! I really need to start thinking further ahead for situations like these! Okay, so far you've been able to squeeze your way through this. Just keep on going.

"Well, the thing we fought was undead, so I figured if we use to to heal on an undead thing, it would do the opposite. As for it actually working, call it dumb luck." I said as I scratched my head.

Come on man, just buy the thing already.

Cloud just nodded his head as we walked along.

Well, this is going to be a long hike. I might as well try to make the best of it.

"So Cloud, when you were in SOLDIER, did you ever hear of anyone named Zack Fair?" I asked.

"Can't say that I have. Why do you ask?" Cloud said as he gave me a weird look. I shrugged.

"Meh, just wondering is all. Can't blame a guy for asking questions." I said as we walked along.

"It's weird, I keep hearing that name a lot. When we were in Gongaga we stopped at an old couples house. They said that they had a son named Zack Fair who was a SOLDIER first class." Cloud said as he looked ahead, looking like he was going deep into thought.

"And you don't know anyone by that name?" I asked. Cloud shook his head.

"If there was another SOLDIER first class then I would have known about it. Only the best of the best make first class. I was one of them." Cloud said as we started nearing the end of the cave.

Cocky little fart knocker.

"Huh, interesting." I said.

"So I guess Red will be leaving the group then." Cloud said.

"That reminds me of a saying, 'Life is like a box of chocolates. Everyone wants one... I really don't know where I was getting at with that but I'm sure it'll come in handy one of these days." I said as we left the cave. Cloud just face palmed and sighed.

We started walking to the bonfire once we were clear of the stairs. Everyone was still sitting around it when we reached it.

"Hey guys! We're back from kicking the ever loving crap out of some stuff and found materia!" I shouted out in order to get the groups attention.

"You guys found materia without me! That's no fair!" Yuffie shouted back at me.

"That's what happens when you're not awesome like me!" I said with a grin.

"What! Come here and say that to my face!" Yuffie shouted.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my new materia!" I said as I looked at the gravity materia.

"Why you little-" Yuffie began but was cut off by Tifa.

"Both of you settle down now!" She demanded. Both if us went silent.

Oh yeah, I totally just won another round.

"Where's Nanaki?" Aeris asked.

"Oh, he's having a conversation with Bugenhagen. They'll be back soon." I said as I place Punisher down. I then sat down next to the fire.

"What's the status on the buggy?" Cloud asked as he sat down after putting his buster sword next to him.

"The guys said that it aint gonna be done till tomorrow" Barret said.

"They're letting us stay the night. Though since all the rooms are filled we have to sleep out here next to the bonfire." Tifa said.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Cait said cheerfully.

Why is he looking forward to it?

"We should get some sleep then. It's been a long day." Cloud said as he laid back on the ground.

"Don't need to tell me twice." I sad as I fell back to. Sadly, I let my self fall back to quickly and hit my head on the ground way to hard. A loud thud could be heard.

"Guahhh!" I said while clenching my teeth. I grabbed the back of my head and rolled around for a bit.

"Serves you right! Jerk!" Yuffie shouted.

"Yuffie! Shut up!" I shouted back.

"Both of you!" Tifa shouted at us. I rubbed the back of my head before placing it gently back onto the ground. I looked up at the stars before closing my eyes. I was out in less then five seconds.

I was woken up to the pain of someone stepping on my stomach. I instantly shot up and grabbed my stomach, trying to hold in a cry of pain.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I heard someone say quietly.

I looked over to where the voice was coming from. It was Tifa.

"Hey, no biggie" I said weekly.

Guahhhh! That friggin hurt!

"What are you doing up?" I asked as soon as the pain started to subside.

"Huh? Oh, I couldn't sleep so I thought I would go for a little walk." Tifa said.

"Awesome. Since I'm already up mind if I join you?" I asked as I stood up.

"Oh, uh, sure. Just be careful not to step on anyone." Tifa said as she tip-toed her way to the steps leading down from the bonfire. I followed her.

It was still dark and every thing was silent. Both of us walked around the village in silence for a bit.

"So, what's on you're mind?" I asked. Tifa didn't respond.

"Hey, Tifa." I said as I waved my hand in front of her. She still didn't respond. I began to snap my fingers in her face.

"Huh? What?" She said as she started to look around.

"You zoned out there for a moment." I said as I gave her a weird look.

"Oh, sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." Tifa said with a little sadness in her voice.

"Well, back to my original question. What's on your mind?" I asked. Tifa went silent again. I was about to start snapping my fingers but she started speaking.

"I... It's just... I don't know how to say it. Or even if I want to say it..." Tifa trailed off.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said with a grin.

To be honest, I really didn't know if I wanted to travel down this road. I don't know how to handle people emotionally to well. I've never had to. Growing up I was always that loner kid at school. So I never really spoke to anyone. When I finally had friends we never got into that touchy feely crap. So we always joked around and such. And at home I just stayed in my room most of the time. Never really had heart to heart conversations with them.

"Well, these hands... They've killed people..." Tifa finally said. She lifted up her hands and looked at them. They were trembling.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I hate blood shed yet I've caused so much of it. When the plate fell... If it wasn't for us destroying the mako reactor... Shinra would've never dropped the plate." Tifa said as she stopped walking. It took me a bit to notice that she did so I ended up walking past her a few steps. I turned around and focused on her.

"I don't kill the people when we're fighting. Barret's the same way. Both of us have enough blood on our hands... I feel like I'm a monster." Tifa said, he hands still trembling.

"Tifa, you're not a monster. Shinra did that on their own. You nor Barret nor Cloud nor anyone else made them do it." I said, trying to sound reassuring.

"If I'm not a monster, then why can't I stop feeling so jealous about Cloud and Aeri-" Tifa quickly covered her mouth. She didn't want me to hear her say it but she let it slip.

"About Cloud and Aeris" I finished for her. Tifa put her head down in shame.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way but... I can't help it. Cloud just looks at Aeris a way that... The way he speaks to her... I shouldn't be jealous. Aeris is like my sister but I..." Tifa trailed off. She began to cry.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. I don't know how to comfort a crying person. A big part of me was tempted to just walk away and leave her there to her self but I knew I couldn't do that.

As I was debating what to do next when suddenly, the choice was taken out of my hands. Tifa quickly wrapped her arms around me and buried her head into my chest and began to sob.

I froze up. I didn't know how to react at this point. So, I just let my body take over for the next action. I slowly lifted my arms up. I began to wrap my arms around her but hesitated slightly, wondering if it was the right thing to do. I then proceeded forward and embraced her.

"Tifa" I said, trying my best to sound soothing. "It's okay." I said. She continued to cry.

"Feelings don't dictate who you are. It's what you do with those feeling that show who you really are." I said. Tifa looked up at me, giving me a teary eyed confused look. I just gave her a soft smile.

"What I mean is, it's normal to feel these things. It's when you act out on those feeling, that defines you. In a positive or negative way, it's up to you." I said with a soft smile still.

Honestly, I had no idea if I was helping. I had always fantasized about moments like these. Now that I'm actually living it out, I'm lost.

Tifa seemed to calm down after I said those words. I relaxed a little to now. She loosened her grip on me so I did the same thing. Her face suddenly turned red.

"Sorry for doing that." She said as she wiped the remaining tears away from her face.

"Hey, don't be sorry. Everyone needs a shoulder to cry one." I said with a grin. Tifa smiled back at me.

"We should head back to the bonfire. The sun will be coming up soon." Tifa said. Both of us walked back to the camp.

"Oh Tifa! Here, you should eat this! It will help make you feel better." I said as I reached into my satchel and pulled out a chocolate bar. I handed it to her.

"Thanks." She said softly as she began to eat it. When we had gotten back to the camp she finished eating her chocolate bar. Both of us walked back to our spots, quietly.

"I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight." Tifa said quietly as she looked into the fire.

"Oh, I have an idea." I said quietly as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my i-phone. Tifa just looked at me weird. I dug through my music section and opened up a play list called 'Sleep'. I usually use it to help me sleep sometimes.

It's mostly a bunch of smooth songs, or at least what I consider smooth songs. Songs like 'Sound Life', 'Sunleth Waterscape', 'Dearly Beloved', Seven Rings In Hand' the Bentley Jones version and a bunch of other songs.

I silently moved over to Tifa.

"Here, listen to some music. It usually helps me to sleep." I said as I put the ear buds into her ears.

"I thought you said that it was low on power?" Tifa asked.

"It was, but Cait Sith found a way to get more into it." I said as I pressed play on it. I then locked it. This time, I made sure to put a better password in it. Just in case she decided to go snooping through it. I already had one person knowing about where I come from. I don't think I need another... For now. Also, there wasn't really anything in it to make her question anything so I'm pretty sure that I have all my bases covered.

"It sounds lovely, thank you Boto." Tifa said with a soft smile. I just gave her the thumbs up and went back to my spot as silently as I could. I laid down, making sure to not hit my head. I slowly closed my eyes as I stared up at the stars.

Wow, that went way better then I expected. I feel really good knowing that I was able to help someone like that.

With that thought I quickly drifted off into sleep.

I woke up, once again, to someone stepping on my stomach.

"Quit sleepin' and get'cho ass in gear." Barret said as he lifted his foot off my stomach.

"Why must you people do this to me!" I said as I held my stomach. After the pain had subsided I stood up and looked around. Everyone was getting ready to leave. Nanaki was not here yet.

"So, this is it Nanaki..." Aeris said, sadness in her voice.

"That's just the way it goes. You came in handy at times." Barret said. He even sounded a bit sad.

"He didn't even say goodbye!" Yuffie said as she crossed her arm and tapped her foot.

"Let's head out." Cloud said. All of us started waling to the stairs when Nanaki came running after us.

"Wait for me! I'm coming too!" He shouted as he dashed towards the group.

"Mmm?" Cloud said as he saw Nanaki run up to us. Bugenhagen followed him.

"Cloud, please look after Nanaki." Bugenhagen said.

"What happened?" Cloud asked, looking very confused.

"I think I grew up a little. That's what happened!" Nanaki said excitedly.

"Well, it's good to have you back with us!" I said with a grin.

"It sure is." Tifa said as well. She sounded exceedingly happy.

"Right, let's get going then." Cait said as he made his way to the buggy. I started to walk when I heard Tifa start singing.

_"~Step into the rainbow, find another view._

_ Chase the tender light, borders let's cross over._

_ Ready to define the mists inside your heart._

_ Take a breath and start you life,_

_ Waves of a new day._

_ Clear all the gloom away,_

_ Hope is what we simply need to proceed.~"_ Tifa sang happily. She then proceeded to hum the rest of the song since it was nothing but beats and what not after the lyrics.

"Oh, Boto! I almost forgot." Tifa said suddenly as she pulled out my i-phone.

"I'd take it that it helped?" I asked as I took back the phone and put it into my pocket.

"It did, I just started to focus on the music and quickly fell asleep. Thanks Boto." Tifa said as she quickly hugged me and went to the front of the group, still humming the same song.

I smiled and began to walk to the buggy. I stayed in the back of the group. I noticed that Cait Sith slowed down to my pace and was now in the back with me.

"So, we're going to Nibelhiem next. What can we expect there?" Cait asked.

"We're going to run into Sephiroth. Don't worry though, him and Cloud just say a bunch of words. Then Sephiroth forgets how to use materia and just chucks it at Cloud." I said with a grin. Cait laughed.

"You know, you know how to make something serious sound funny." Cait said.

"Meh, to be fair I ripped that one off from the internet." I said.

"The what?" Cait asked.

"I'll explain later. Oh, we also get Vincent in out group while we are there." I said.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it." Cait said. We continued to walk.

"Oh, Cait, I have one question about potions. How do they work. Cait Sith just looked at me before laughing.

"What' so funny?" I asked as glared at him.

"What's funny is the fact that you know pretty much everything that's going to happen yet you don't the how a potions works." Cait laughed.

"Yeah, so?" I said annoyed.

"That's stuff that they teach you in grade school!" Cait cried out. I just rolled my eyes.

"Are you going to explain or not?" I asked. Cait calmed down on his laughter and began to explain.

"Well, you see, a potion speeds up and enhances the body's natural healing process. The stronger the potion, the longer the affects last." Cait said.

"Wait, there isn't any bad side affect is their? Like, it ends up shortening my life span?" I asked nervously.

"Nope, it's perfectly safe." He assured me. I sighed in relief.

"Of course, there have been cases of people losing limbs." Cait said.

"What!" I shouted out. Cait just started laughing.

"My word man, you're so gullible!" Cait laughed as he went ahead of me.

Son of a- I'll get him back for that!

* * *

><p>With that thought, I proceeded to the buggy. It was the same order as last time except Barret and I were switching places. So I was on the roof with Yuffie. As soon as everyone was settled in Cloud started the buggy and we took off to Nibelhiem.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18: Finding The Lost

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I would use that money to build a giant statue of Darth Vader fist fighting Optimums Prime while constantly blaring "Robot Rock" from speakers attached to the statue.**_

_A/N: So close guys! So close to the plot! I realize that this isn't that popular or that great but I'm trying to improve. I'm slowly going through older chapters and fixing my grammar and what not. So please let me know what you guys think. As for those who review each chapter, thank you so much. You don't know how much joy I get ou of reading that little notification saying I have a review. Please continue to review! Also, one more thing. Would you guys want me to continue this story through Advent Children and Dirge Of Cerberus? I could pull it off if you want. Let me know._

Chapter Eighteen: Finding The Lost

* * *

><p>"Okay, you ready?" I said as I glared at Yuffie.<p>

"Ready." She said with her smug little grin.

"Okay, on my mark. Three. Two. One... GO!" I shouted.

"Rock paper scissors!" Both of us said as he pounded our fists into our hands. I threw paper while Yuffie threw scissors.

"Ha! I win again!" Yuffie shouted out in victory. That was the thirty seventh time she had beaten me, in a row.

Cloud was driving the buggy smoothly enough for Yuffie to not get motion sickness. Both of us ended up getting bored while we were headed to Nibelhiem. So, to pass the time, we decided to play Rock Paper Scissors.

"How do you keep doing that!" I shouted out as I grabbed my head. Yuffie just grinned.

"I'm a master ninja! I can see you're moves before you even make them." She said as she thumbed her nose.

"Another round." I demanded as I narrowed my eyes at her.

I have a pullet proof plan for beating her this time!

"Okay, but I'm telling you, you're just going to lose again." Yuffie said in a very cocky tone.

"Just give it up foo'. You aint gonna win." Barret threw his two cents in.

"Barret! Don't make me come down there!" I shouted out at him. Barret just laughed at my feeble attempt to sound threatening.

"Okay, on my mark. Three. Two. One... Go!" Yuffie shouted this time.

"Rock paper scissors!" Both of us shouted out. Yuffie threw rock while I threw a combination of all three. I had my pinky and my ring finger closed. My middle finger, index finger and thumb were left out and spread apart. I grinned.

"What!" Yuffie shouted in shock and anger when she saw my hand.

"Ha! I win you loser!" I boasted as I shoved my hand in her face.

"That's cheating!" She shouted as she smacked my hand away from her.

"There's nothing in the rule book say I can't out all three together in one throw! Sh ha! I win" I shouted as I copied Yuffie and thumbed my nose.

"Guys, we're here!" Cait shouted as the buggy slowed down to a stop. Cloud and Tifa opened the buggy's doors and took off straight into Nibelheim, leaving everyone else behind.

"What's up with them?" Yuffie asked as she climbed down from the buggy.

"That's their home town. It was supposed to have burned down yeas ago. But as you can see..." I trailed off as I pointed to the town. It was fully rebuilt.

"You sure they aint lyin'?" Barret asked as he started walking to the town.

"As them your self." I said as I began to follow. Everyone else followed us.

When we reached Nibelheim Cloud and Tifa where awestruck by the town. Both of them were silent.

"Guys?" I asked as we approached them.

"What! This was all supposed to be burnt down, right?" Tifa said pleadingly towards Cloud. Cloud nodded his head.

"I thought so." Cloud said as he examined everything.

"Then why...? My house is still here too..." Tifa trailed as she stared at her old house.

So much for her bubbly mood earlier.

"Something's strange..." Aeris said as she looked over at Cloud.

"I'm not lying!" Cloud said. He then shook hos head. "I remember the intense heat of the flames..." Cloud trailed off. He was now fully out of it.

"Okay, I suggest we look around the town then. See what we can find out about what happened in this town and meet back here in fifteen minuets or so." I said as I looked at the entire group.

"Who died and made you boss?" Barret asked as he gave me a weird look.

"You got any better ideas?" I asked as I shot him a glare. He just went silent and started walking. As he past me he mumbled something about me being a punk ass kid. I ignored it.

Everyone took off in different directions to go searching through the town. I decided to go to the water tower in the middle of the town. I climbed up and it sat down at the top.

"So this is the famous spot where Cloud made the promise to Tifa." I said as I looked around. You could actually see the entire town from this view.

I heard someone else starting to climb up the water tower as well. I looked over to see who it was. It was Cait Sith.

"Well hello. What brings you up here?" Cait asked as he sat his moogle down next to me.

"Meh, I thought I would check the top of this thing out. I Always wanted to." I said as I leaned back.

"Huh, interesting." Cait said.

"What is?" I asked as I looked over at him.

"You knew that this place was rebuilt already?" He asked. I nodded my head.

"You're part of Shinra, didn't you or Reeve know too?" I asked. Cait nodded his head as well.

"So tell me, when we were in Cosmo Canyon and you, Cloud and Nanaki left, what did you find.

"Well..." I told him the whole story of what happened inn the cave, about Seto and all that good stuff.

"Why didn't you just use a soft on Seto?" Cait asked when I had finished telling the story.

"You know, I thought about that. I've come to the conclusion that Bugenhagen is no fool. If it would have worked then he would've used it already." I said as I stretched out my arms.

"Huh. Yeah, I can understand that." Cait said as he copied me by stretching his arms as well.

"Hey Boto! I thought you said we should be looking around!" Yuffie shouted from below.

"I already did! I'm thinking we should investigate the mansion! All the creepy hooded people keep talking about Sephiroth!" I shouted back at her.

"Kay! I'll go get everyone!" Yuffie shouted back at me before taking off.

"You didn't look around." Cait said when Yuffie had left.

"Well, when I played the game I did so technically I'm not lying." I said with a grin.

"Oh yeah huh. So, what's inside the mansion?" Cait asked. I went silent for a bit before I responded.

"Right thirty six, left ten, right fifty nine, right ninety seven." I said as I stared at the mansion.

'What?" Cait as in a confused tone.

"It's the combination to a safe within the mansion. It has the summon materia Odin. One of Nanki's limit breaks, a key to the room where Vincent is, and and a huge monster that can defy the laws of physics called Lost Number." I said as I looked back over to Cait.

Oh yeah, I made sure to memorize the safe combination. Vincent is my favorite character. There's not a snowballs chance in Hell that I'm going to miss out on meeting him!

"Huh, you really are something you know that." Cait said as he leaned forward on his moogle.

"Ha, yeah. It comes in handy when you know what's going to happen. I'm not going to lie though, it's a little hard to feel sad for Cloud and Tifa right now since I've gone through this part so many times. I know they eventually get over it." I said as I closed my eyes and leaned back again. Both of us went silent for a little bit.

"So Sephiroth is in there as well right?" Cait asked.

"Well, yes and no. It's Sephiroth but at the same time, it's not really him. Right now the actual Sephiroth is in the Northern Crater. This Sephiroth is just... I really don't know how to put it." I said as I opened my eyes again and looked over to Cait.

Honestly, I forgot what the crap this Sephiroth is. The only thing I know about him is that he's in a physical form but can phase through stuff and fly.

"Huh, that's very interesting. And we defeat him right?" Cait asked.

"Well, Cloud actually beats him but in the long run, yeah. You know, I'm surprised that you're taking this rather well." I said as I sat up. Cait just smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"I am too. I guess things just don't surprise me that much." Cait said cheerfully.

"Wait, you're surprised that you're not surprised?" I asked as I gave him a weird look. Cait just shrugged. Both of us went silent for a bit again.

"You never told me what WRO stand for." Cait finally said.

"World Regenesis Organization." I said flatly.

"Huh, interesting." Cait replied.

"Guys! Get down here!" Yuffie shouted again. I looked down and saw that everyone was walking to the center of town again.

"Time to find Vincent." I said as I began to climb down. Cait followed shortly after.

Everyone had arrived by the time we reached the bottom.

"Well, everyone is denying what happened here five years ago." Cloud said bitterly.

"Shinra, they rebuilt the town to try and hide what happened here." Tifa said as she clenched her fists.

"All the those black hooded people keep talking about Sephiroth. One of them said Sephiroth is actually here in the mansion. I'm not sure if he was lying though. We should go check it out." I said as I pointed over to the mansion.

"Stop orderin' us around!" Barret shouted.

"You got a problem with that punk!" I yelled back.

"Punk! Who you callin' a punk!" Barret shouted as he got into my face.

"You wanna take this outside tough guy!" I shouted as I got into his face.

"We're already outside dumb ass!" Barret shouted.

"Then bring it on!" I shouted back.

Suddenly both of our heads were knocked to gerther.

"Both of you! Stop acting like a couple of children before I have to treat you like them!" Tifa shouted. She was clearly not happy.

"Guahhh! It's like ramming my head into a brick wall!" I shouted as I grabbed my head.

"Son of a- The Hell Teef! That hurt!" Barret shouted as he grabbed his head. Tifa just crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited for us to stop complaining. Both of us went silent.

"Good." Tifa said as she uncrossed her arms.

"Let's head to the mansion." Cloud said.

I don't get it! Why dies Tifa beat me up and then tell me her problems! Wait, why did she tell me about her problems? She's usually the one that puts on a smile and tries to keep the group's moral up. I can understand her wanting to tell someone about it but why me? A part of me wants to say that it's because she likes me but I know that won't happen. Not even in a fanfiction. You know what, I'm not going to think about it. I'll just end up hurting my head.

As we began to travel to the mansion we passed up more of Hojo's experiments. They just seemed to ignore us as we passed them by.

The majority of them seemed to have gathered around the mansion. To be honest, I didn't want to go any where near them.

Cloud opened the door to the mansion and lead everyone in. It was dark and smelled a little musty. Other then that, it didn't look half bad.

Huh, I guess I should have been expecting this. Cloud and Zack broke out of this place not to long ago... Wait, how long have we been traveling for? Man, you really lose track of time out here. I'll have to ask someone how long we've been at this for when I get the chance... Or I feel like it.

"This place brings back a lot of memories..." Cloud trailed off as he examined the place.

"Place is a dump." Barret said bluntly as he walked in.

"Meh, it could be worse." I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Here's the plan, since this place as an underground lab were going to be splitting up into two groups. The first group will stay up here and search for anything that might give us a lead on Sephiroth. The second will be heading into the lab doing th same thing. I want Barret, Nanaki and Cait with me heading into the lab. Everyone else is up here." Cloud ordered as he singled out Barret, Nanaki and Cait Sith.

"Why do all the girls have to stick together up here! Why can't we go down into the lab!" Yuffie protested.

"Hey! I'm not a girl!" I protested.

"You sure bitch like one." Barret snickered.

"Barret! Shut the Hell up before I kick you in the nuts!" I shouted as I pointed at him.

After being around Barret for so long I've just come to the conclusion that when Barret fires at you, you just return fire.

"Jus' like a girl." Barret said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tifa asked as she folded her arms and stuck her hip out to the left.

"Uh, nothin'. Jus' potin' out how... Strong... Women are..." Barret trailed off. Tifa raised her eyebrow at him before she rolled her eyes and unfolded her arms.

"Let's just head out." Cloud said as he face palmed. The second group followed Cloud u[ the stairs and out of sight, presumably into the underground laboratory.

"Okay, Yuffie and I will search the first floor. Aeris and Boto I want you two to search the second floor." Tifa said as she now took charge of the first group.

"I'm searching this room!" Yuffie shouted before she took of into the room that was to our left. Tifa just sighed and followed. Aeris giggled.

"Yuffie sure is energetic. Come on Boto, let's head up to the second floor." Aeris pointed to the stairs.

"Let's roll then." I said as I walked over to the stairs. Aeris followed.

"So, what do you think of Yuffie?" Aeris asked playfully.

What the frig does that have to do with anything?

"Meh, she's a good friend." I said as I shrugged.

Really, that's what I think of her. To be honest, she like most of my friends. Short, energetic and random. The more I hung around her the more I realized this. That and it would be illegal... Well, at least back in the states. Either way it was out of the question.

I don't care what all those Vincent/Yuffie fans say! It's just flat out weird! If a nineteen year old dating a sixteen year old is weird then a fifty seven year old is just flat out creepy! Sadly, I fall under the category of that fandom. Although I prefer the Vincent/Tifa paring more... Wow, now that I actually stop to think about it, that paring is just flat out weird. Man, if I ever get back home I really need to lay off the fanfiction.

"Hm, is that so?" Aeris said as she tilted her head to the left a little. I just sighed. When we reached the top of the stairs I turned around to face Aeris.

"Okay, you check the room at the far end. I'll go and check the room that's to the far and and to the left." I said as I pointed to the rooms at the end of the walkway.

"Right. Remember, if you have any trouble, just shut and I'll be right there." Aeris said as she pulled out her staff. I gave her the thumbs up. Both of us went into the separate rooms.

As soon as I was in it I went straight to the safe.

"Okay, this should be easy. I'm just going to get it ready to open, not open it. It would be better if everyone was here to fight Lost Number." I said out loud to my self as I knelt down next to it. I grabbed the dial on the safe.

"Okay, I only have twenty seconds to get this right." I said before taking in a deep breath. I then quickly started turning the dial. I had made it up to the last turn when I accidental over shot it and went to ninety eight instead of nighty seven.

"Crap, okay, let's start over." I said. I waited a little bit before restarting. I went to thirty six, unfortunately, I turned it to the left.

"Crap!" I said, I waited again to restart. This time I went a little slower. Sadly, I went to slow and exceeded the time limit.

"Son of a- Come one!" I shouted as I tried one more time. I over shout the first turn by a long shot.

"That's it!" I shouted as I stood up. I pulled out Punisher and smacked the side of the safe with it as hard as I could. When I did that the safe opened up. My eyes widened in horror.

"Hey guys! I found a note!" I heard Yuffie shout before Lost Number launched its self out of the safe, directly at me. It some how grew in size, like it was shrunken inside of the safe. Either way, it tackled me out of the room and through the railing right into the first floor. I hit the floor with a loud thud as Lost Number stood back up and gave a loud roar.

My ears were ringing, my vision a little blurry, the wind was knocked out of me and my back hurt like no other. My first reaction was to just stay in the same spot and not move. Then my common sense kicked in and I rolled to the right. I moved just in time to because Lost number was about to stomp on me. I quickly got up onto my feet and stumbled around a bit, my head foggy from what just happened.

Lost Number was about to charge at me again until a shuriken flew out of no where and hit its face. It let out a roar of pain.

"Gotcha!" Yuffie shouted as the shuriken flew back to her.

"Boto! You okay?" Tifa shouted as she ran next to me.

"Huh? What?" I said, still out of it.

A huge shard of ice hit Lost Number. It let out another roar of pain. Aeris was up on the second floor casting ice at it.

"Boto! Snap out of it! We have to fight!" Tifa shouted as she shook me. I blinked a couple of times before I shook my head really fast. I was trying to get my mind focused.

"Right! Let's kick some ass!" I shouted when my mind was clear. Tifa gave me the thumbs up and charged at the monster. She dodged one of it's tentacles by sliding underneath the monster. She then quickly did a somersault and kicked Lost Number. Both Tifa and Lost Number jumped back.

I reached for Punisher when I realized, I had dropped it when Lost Number tackled me.

"Crap." I said out loud as I reached for the pistol that I always carried in one of my pockets. I also pulled out my EMR. I started shooting at Lost number while Yuffie quickly charged in for an attack. She stabbed Lost Number and slid her shuriken up. She the quickly jumped back as Aeris cast lighting at it. Lost Number let out a cry of pain. It then quickly cast lightning at the closest target. That happened to be Tifa. She manged to dodge it only to be swiped by one of it's tentacles.

Aeris quickly jumped off from the second floor and right onto Lost Numbers back. She smacked it as hard as she could with her staff. She then jumped back and landed on the floor.

"This is getting us nowhere fast!" I shouted as I fired my last bullet into Lost Number.

"We need to think of a way to take this thing out now!" Yuffie shouted as she dodged Lost Number's tentacle.

"I've got it! Yuffie! Summon Shiva!' I shouted. She nodded her head and began to focus on her Shiva summon. I then began to focus on my Ifrit materia.

"Aeris! Tifa! Hold him off for just a bit!" I shouted.

"Yeah! No problem!" Tifa shouted back as she charged in for another attack.

"I have you covered." Aeris said as she quickly used ice again.

Crap! I've never used a summon materia before! This is taking way too long and too much energy! Just focus on the materia!

The red orb began to glow. The longer I concentrated the brighter it became. Finally, it shot out a bright light. Shortly after that a hole opened up in the ride side of the mansion on the floor. Ifrit jumped out of the hole and into the air.

At the same time, Yuffie had finished summoning Shiva. She descended from the ceiling on the left side of the mansion.

Summoning had left both Yuffie and I breathless and exhausted.

When both Ifrit and Shiva landed on the floor both of them glared at each other. Ifrit snarled at Shiva while, flames flaring from his nostrils. Shiva just scoffed at Ifrit and turned her head to the side.

I've never seen a double summon before, this will be interesting.

Lost Number eyed both of his new opponents. He stood in between them and let out a loud roar. He was ready to take them on.

Both Ifrit and Shiva looked at one another. Even thought they were still glaring, Shiva gave a slight nod of her head and glided over to Ifrit. Ifrit knelt down on the ground, putting both of his hands out in front of him, looking like he was about to take off running. Instead of running though, he let out a loud roar. Flames began to engulf him and form a sphere around him.

Shiva began to circle Ifrit. When she did she took in a deep breath and began to blow a frost at him. At first the frost evaporated. Then it slowly began to form another sphere around Ifrit. The fire was still burning inside of the sphere.

I realized the Lost Number wasn't just going to stand around and wait for this attack to happen. He was going to attack now.

"Guys! We need to distract him in order for those two to complete their move!" I shouted as I panted for air.

Tifa was the first to attack. Just as Lost Number was about to unleash a barrage of whips at the two summons, Tifa ran in for another hit. She jumped onto his arm and ran up it. She landed a hit right on his head. She quickly jumped off of him and landed smoothly back on the ground.

Lost number began to flail his arm and tentacle around in pain. AS he was doing so I decided to try and hit him with the EMR. As I ran forward his flailing tentacle hit me square in the chest. It knocked me back a few feet. I was knocked down onto my back.

I felt a surge of energy go through me, I quickly got up and used my hate materia to speed my self up I ran forward, preparing to do my limit break.

Since I only had one pistol and was out of ammo for it I couldn't perform Million Dollars. I don't think Sixty Four Palms would work on this guy, I did the only one I had left. As I ran forward, dodging it's tentacle, I jumped high up into the air and did a side kick to Lost Number's face. The landing wasn't as smooth as Tifa's but it got the Job done.

As soon as I landed Ifrit and Shiva finished preparing their attack. Ifrit was encased in fire and ice. Shiva gilded behind Ifrit and with a snap of her finger, she sent Ifrit flying into Lost Number.

The attack hit Lost Number square in the chest. First, all the ice shattered as hit him. Then, Lost Number burst into flames. Ifrit knocked Lost Number down onto his back. When the attack was finished both Ifrit and Shiva faded away.

Lost Number was crying out in pain while flailing around on his back. Soon the noise died down and his movements stopped. Lost Number was dead.

I was bent over with my hands on my knees breathing heavily. My adrenalin rush was wearing off now and the pain slowly crept back into my body. I looked up and saw that everyone else was drained of their energy as well. Yuffie was lying on the ground breathing heavily while Tifa and Aeris were leaning on a wall for support.

I gave them a grin and a thumbs up.

"Good job... Everyone." I said in between breaths.

"Where did that thing come from?" Tifa asked as she slowly pushed her self off from the wall.

"The safe." I said as I pointed to the second floor.

"So that's the safe the note was talking about." Yuffie said as she dug into her pocket and pulled out the note. She lifted it above her face and examined it.

"How'd you get it open without the combination" Yuffie asked as she read the note to her self.

"Really crappy luck." I said as I walked over to the stairs to claim my reward. Tifa walked over to Yuffie and took the note from her hands. Yuffie didn't really seem to care.

"Huh, the note says that there's someone in the basement. Should we check it out?" Tifa said.

"You bet we are! We didn't go through all that crap just to not get what ever the Hell's in that safe!" I said as I began to climb the stairs.

"I'll go ahead and start healing you guys." Aeris said as she readied her cure materia.

When I made it to the safe I picked Punisher up and opened the safe up I say the Odin summon and put it in my satchel. I then grabbed the key that was in it. It looked like a little silver key from The Legend Of Zelda. The last thing in there was a piece of paper written in a language I didn't understand.

Huh, you know I have no idea what a limit break looks like. I guess this is it.

I put that into my pocket and left the room. I walked down the stairs to see Aeris using her cure materia on Yuffie.

"Just a bit more and then you're next Boto." Aeris said as she finished up. When she was done Aeris walked over to me and closed her eyes. The cure materia she had with her started to glow. Soon I felt a healing sensation go over me. It quickly turned to pain as I felt some bones snap into place.

"Guah! Why does that always hurt?" I said as I clenched my teeth.

"Don't worry, it's almost over." Aeris said gently. Suddenly we heard a door open and a bunch of feet stomping around quickly upstairs.

"Everyone! Sephiroth was here!" Cloud said as he ran to the stairs. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the place. The first floor was either chard or covered in ice and there was a giant dead monster in the middle of the room.

"It's about time you showed up!" I shouted at Cloud.

"The Hell happened here!" Barret shouted as he examined the aftermath of the battle.

"Well, it turns out that this monster could defy the laws of physics so I had to kick it's ass for doing so." I said as I pointed at Lost Number.

"I get it now." Cait Sith said as he pointed at Lost Number.

"Wait, Sephiroth was here?" Tifa asked as she looked over to Cloud. Cloud nodded his head.

He explained how Sephiroth told him a little more about Reunion and how he was heading past Mt. Nibel, heading north. He explained how Sephiroth then chucked a destruct materia at him and then vanished.

"So we're going to be heading to Mt. Nibel." Cloud said when he had finished.

"Wait! I found a note! It said that there's someone in the lab or something. Says it's an ex-Turk or something!" Yuffie said as she jumped up and down waving the note in the air.

"Really? Hm, interesting. I don't think we have enough time to check it out though. We should hurry to- Boto what are you doing?" Cloud asked as he watched me quickly scale up the wall. I waled over to the stairs, I couldn't go up them since they were being blocked by Cloud, Barret, Nanaki and Cait Sith. I climbed up the side of the steps until I reached the railing on them. I then slid my hand side to side on the railing going up until I reached the top. I then pulled my self up and swung myself over the railing onto the second floor.

"I'm going to go check this guy out. He might be useful." I said as I walked over to the entrance to the lab.

"Wait, I said no." Cloud said as he began to walk up the stairs.

Aw crap. You mean I have to actually convince Cloud to let me get Vincent!

I turned around to face Cloud when Cait Sith stepped in Cloud's way.

"Hold on a sec lad, I think this might be a good idea." Cait said.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked as he stopped waling up the steps.

"I mean, think about it. This guy in the basement could help us. We've already made sure that everything is cleared down there." Cait said cheerfully.

"What if this ex-Turk attacks Boto?" Cloud asked.

"Boto? He's a tough lad. He can take care of himself. Besides, I'll go with him to make sure everything goes fine. You have my word." Cait said as he put his right hand over where his heart would be and his left hand in the air. His moogle did the same thing.

Cloud seemed to think it over for a bit before responding.

"You have ten minuets." Cloud said pointing at me then to Cait Sith.

Yes! Thank you Cait Sith! I'm so glad I have you on my side!

I did an inward fist pump.

"That's more then enough time! Let's go Boto!" Cait said as he began to go up the stairs.

"Why do those two get to go down there!" Yuffie shouted.

"Because more people would be wasting time." Cloud said bluntly. Yuffie just folded her arms and pouted.

Both Cait Sith and I entered the door to the lab and began to move down the stairs.

"Thanks for the back up back there Cait." I said when the door closed behind us.

"Don't mention it." He said as he patted me on the back. Suddenly I heard a ringing noise. It sounded like Snake's codec from Metal Gear Solid.

"You hear that?" I asked Cait Sith as I looked around. I looked around for a bit before I reached into my pocket. My phone was going.

Oh wow, it's been so long since my phone went off that I didn't even recognize my ring tone. Which is Snake's codec. Wait, who's calling me?

I answered the call.

"Hello?" I asked in a confused tone.

"Ah, good. It worked. How are you Mr. Umble?" It was reeve on the other end of the call. I stopped walking down the stairs.

"Reeve? H-How did you get my number?" I asked, even more confused now. Reeve just laughed.

"Remember, I have all the content on you PHS. I had to wait for you to be separated from the group in order to call." Reeve said.

"Huh, go figure. Wait, how did you manage to call me. My PHS has no service?" I asked as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Ah, well I looked into that. Apparently your OHS has picked up on the same signal that our PHSs use." Reeve said.

"And that is...?" I trailed off. Reeve just laughed.

"It still surprises me on how much you know and yet how little you know." Reeve said.

Jerk

"Well, It's nice to actually talk to you for a change instead of getting all my information from Cait Sith. Though I didn't call just to have a pleasant chat." Reeve said, sounding a little more serious now.

"Oh? And what did you call for?" I asked.

"I called to ask what I should do about a current situation, Right now the President and the Turks are having a meeting about locating and capturing a little girl named Marlene. They say she's the daughter of Barret Wallace. I was wondering, do they go through with it?" Reeve asked. I went silent.

"I see..." Reeve continued. "If that's the case then are you worried about it?" Reeve asked. I thought about it for a bit before responding.

"I don't know yet. The only reason why Marlene is kidnapped is to use her as leverage. But as far as I know, nothing happens to her." I said.

"What do they use her as leverage for?" Reeve asked.

"Well, it's not going to be for a little while but they user her as leverage to get an item called The Keystone. It's used to get into the Temple of the Ancients." I said as I looked over to Cait Sith. He was just watching me with a smile on his face.

"The Temple of the Ancients? I see. What should we do?" Reeve asked.

"Huh, ya know, I've never thought about that... Well, you could try to convince them not to take her. That way we can keep the keystone and Tseng won't end up almost dying." I said as I scratched the back of my head.

"Tseng almost dies? That terrible." Reeve said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah but he lives. We could avoid all of that if you manage to convince them to not take the keystone." I said.

"How do they get the keystone?" Reeve asked.

"Well, originally Cait Sith was supposed to give it to Tseng at the Gold Saucer. But, since you guys are on our side now we can change that." I said as I grinned.

"What would you suggest then?" Reeve asked.

"Well, you could simply not tell them about the keystone and find a way to have them not kidnap Marlene." I said.

"Well, if I were to withhold information like that and they found out, then we could have a serious problem on our hands. Especially if I were to try and convince them not to go and capture Marlene. They would start to suspect me of being a traitor. If I try and convince them to not take Marlene" Reeve said.

"Hm, good point. Okay, just try and convince them about the whole Marlene thing. We'll think of something after that. I can't be to hard, right?" I asked, trying to sound reassuring.

"Okay. I'm almost out of time. I'll go in to the meeting room and try to talk them out of it. I don't know how well it'll work though." Reeve said, sound a bit nervous.

"Okay, now then, if you'll excuse me Cait and I have another party member to retrieve." I said.

"Oh, right. The Turk that went missing thirty years ago. Yes, I did my research on Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind." Reeve said.

"Good." I said as I began to walk down the steps again.

"I'll leave you to your work then. If you can't use your PHS to contact me then ask Cait Sith, he has another PHS on him." Reeve said before he hung up.

Huh, so that's how Cait Sith is able to stay in contact with Reeve.

I ended the call and put the phone back into my pocket. Cait was just following me down the steps.

"So, what the old lad have to say?" Cait asked.

"Meh, not much. Just told me about the current situation is all." I said as we made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"Ah, the Marlene kidnapping things." Cait said as we walked through the door and into the dark hallway leading to the lab.

"Guess I should'a figured you would already know." I said as both of us walked to the metal door that was in the middle of the hallway. I pulled the key out from my pocket. I twirled it around in my hand. I then tried to slide the key into he keyhole. Sadly, I missed and ended up missing the keyhole by a long shot. I rammed the key to the far left side of the keyhole. It made a loud clank when it hit.

"What where you trying to do?" Cait asked as he looked at me with a puzzled face.

"Cait, shut up." I said as I slowly slid the key into the hole, making sure that I didn't miss. I tried twisting the key right. It didn't budge.

"Twist it the other." Cait said cheerfully. I twisted it left. It moved about a quarter of the way before making a clicking sound.

"That did the trick." I said as I slid the key out and placed it back into my pocket.

"So how are we going to handle this?" Cait asked.

"Well, since Cloud's the one who's supposed to do all the talking but decided to not come I figured that we would just stroll in like we own the place and force him to come with us." I said as I placed my hand on the door knob.

"Works for me." Cait said. I opened the door and both and walked in.

"Wow, this place is incredibly gloomy." Cait said as we entered. I saw the coffin at the end of the room and began to walk towards it.

"...To wake me from the nightmare." A voice echoed in the room. Suddenly the lid flew off of the coffin and landed to the right side of it. Inside the coffin was Vincent Valentine.

"Who is it!" Vincent demanded. Vincent sits up and stares at both me and Cait Sith.

"...Never seen you before, You must leave." Vincent said coldly to the both if us.

"The lad's not very friendly." Cait said as he leaned over and whispered to me.

"Shut up." I whispered back. I focused my attention on Vincent again.

"Er... We're here to... Investigate this place..." I trailed off.

Wow, now that I'm actually standing before this guy, he can really be nerve wracking... I'm still going to try and get him to say either 'Bub' or 'Big-O'.

"I have nothing to say to you strangers. Get out. This mansion is the beginning of you're nightmare." Vincent said coldly.

I tried to remember what Cloud said.

"You can say that again." I said as I laughed a little. Vincent gave me a curious look.

"Hmm? What do you know?" He asked as his eyes narrowed at me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Not much really. Just that about thirty years ago and experiment was started involving Jenova. Don't know the full details though. Just that it created the monster that's trying to destroy the world. He goes by the name of Sephiroth." I said as I folded my arms.

Come on, work with me here Vincent.

"Sephiroth! You know Sephiroth!" Vincent asked in an incredibly deadpan voice for someone who's surprised. Vincent slow rose up from his coffin and did and back flip onto the edge of it.

"Speak." Vincent demanded.

Man, what a jerk... He's still my favorite character though.

'Well, I don't know him personally. I've just seen him. The only thing I know about him is that he's gone crazy because he believes that Jenova is his mother. Now he's trying to destroy the world. Me, this guy next to me, and a handful of other people are trying to stop him." I said as I gestured to myself, Cait Sith, then pointed up.

"So Sephiroth knows he was created. And about the Jenova project..." Vincent trailed off.

"Well. To be fair, he wasn't fully created by Jenova. Wasn't there a woman named Lucrecia who actually gave birth to him?" I asked while looking over at Cait. Cait just shrugged his shoulders. Vincent looked at us both as he arched an eyebrow.

"You know Lucrecia?" He asked.

"I know about her. Not personally. She went missing about thirty years ago or so. Why do you ask." I said as I tried to copy is one eyebrow arch. Sadly, I couldn't do it so I ended up raising both of my eyebrows.

"She was the assistant to Professor Gast of the Jenova Project... There was no way to cancel the experiment... I couldn't stop her... That was my sin. I let the one I loved, one I respected most, face the worst." Vincent said as he looked down into the coffin.

Man, this guy's voice is so deadpan I can't tell if he's sad or if he doesn't care. Steve Blum would be proud.

"Join the club. We have a group full of people upstairs with troubled pasts. I think this fool and I are the only ones with happy backgrounds." I said as I pointed to Cait Sith and me. Vincent didn't say anything. Vincent just laid back down in his coffin.

"Leave." He said coldly.

"Okay, you heard the man. Let's leave Cait." I said as I headed for the door.

"Wait what!" Cait asked in surprise.

"He said leave. So we're leaving. Oh, Cait, do you think we'll run into Hojo again?" I asked as I put my hand on the door.

As Vincent was about to put the lit to the coffin back on he stopped.

"Wait, did you just say Hojo?" Vincent asked. As he looked over at me. I grinned before I turned around.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked. Vincent went silent for a bit and looked down at his gauntlet to examine it.

"Lucrecia..." Vincent trailed off.

"All right. I've decided to go with you." Vincent said as He did a front flip out of his coffin.

"Really? You have?" Cait asked as he looked to Vincent then at me. Vincent nodded.

"Being a former Turk I, I may be of some help to you..." Vincent trailed off. I grinned again.

"Awesome. Welcome to AVALANCHE Mr..." I said as I stretched out my hand and trailed off. Vincent just looked at my hand then back at me.

"Valentine. Vincent Valentine." Vincent said. I put my hand down and nodded.

"I'm Robert, just call me Boto." I said as I pointed at my self.

"I'm Cait Sith! Just call me... Cait Sith!" Cait said cheerfully. Vincent just arched his eyebrow at us.

I opened the door and walked out into the hall again.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Gruahhhh! I'm so mad at myself right now! Over the weekend there was a convention going on! I didn't have the money to go to it so I skipped out on it! Guess who happens to show up! Give up? It was frggin Quinton Flynn and Steve Blum! Of all the times to miss one! Guahhhh! (Flips over a table.) I'm gonna go vent my anger by... Doing... Stuff. Happy singles awareness day everyone!_


	19. Chapter 19: He Who Chose The Stars

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I would have used the money to buy a new crappy car.**_

_A/N: Just a few more chapters left! Oh, by the way, another story that I suggest reading, Cross Zone by RISKEDidentity. That thing's a friggin masterpiece! You should definitely go check it out! Especially if you are a Zack Fair fan. Which I am!_

Chapter Nineteen: He Who Chose The Stars

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><p>Reeve walked briskly down the hallway. The Presidents room was straight ahead. He walked up to the door and placed his hand on the handle. He stopped and took a deep breath before knocking. Without waiting for a response he let him self in.<p>

"So then she's located in- Ah, Mr. Tuesti, what brings you here?" Rufus asked as he watched Reeve walk in.

Tseng was standing in front on the President's desk. He was the only Turk present. Reeve walked over to the desk and stood to the right of Tseng. Reeve cleared his throat before speaking.

"Sir, I've recently heard that you plan on having the Turks perform an operation involving a child named Marlene." Reeve said as he folded his arms behind his back. Rufus folded his hands together and brought them up to his mouth.

"What about?" Rufus asked.

"Sir, I believe that this would be a bad idea to perform such an operation." Reeve said. Tseng looked over to him.

"What makes you say that?" Tseng asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"Well, after spending quit a bit of time with the terrorist group, AVALANCHE, they have proven to be quite dangerous. To be honest, I don't know what will happen if they learn that we are going to use one of their own as a hostage." Reeve said.

"Are you growing a soft spot for them Mr. Tuesti?" Rufus asked in a casual tone.

"No Sir. I'm simply advising against such actions due to the fact that this group is indeed dangerous. Such actions won't go unnoticed." Reeve said as he tried to keep his voice calm.

"Sir, the Turks are more then capable of stopping this terrorist group of they begin to act up. Capturing this girl will only help us with controlling them." Tseng said. Reeve was about to say something when Rufus held out his hand to stop him.

"Enough. I've heard enough for now. Mr. Tuesti I will consider this. Now, leave me to think." Rufus said as he leaned back into his chair. Both Tseng and Reeve nodded their heads and headed for the exit.

"Oh, Tseng, one more thing." Rufus said. Both of the men turned around.

"Yes Sir?" Tseng asked.

"Tomorrow I plan to visit Rocket Town." Rufus said. Tseng nodded his head. Both of the men left the room.

* * *

><p>You know, I've noticed something about Vincent. He looks exactly like he does in Dirge Of Cerberus. He even has Cerberus on him. Not that I'm complaining or anything, just wondering why that is. Well, to be fair, in the opening of Dirge Of Cerberus he had the same look when he and Yuffie were evacuating people out of Midgar, though that was a mistake... Or was it? I don't know. Frankly I don't care anymore. Just as long as I can somehow convince Vincent to lend me Cerberus for a bit I'll be good.<p>

Cait Sith, Vincent and I were travailing up the stairs in silence. Vincent hadn't said a thing after we left his coffin, which was about a minuet ago. I don't really know why but for some odd reason I was expecting him to speak.

"So... You lived here?" Cait finally broke the ice and spoke.

"..." Vincent replied.

"So, I see you have a red cape like me." Cait said cheerfully again.

"..." Vincent replied again.

"Not a man of much words." Cait said.

"..." Vincent said.

"Man, I don't know about you Boto but this guy is starting to give me the creeps." Cait said as he leaned over to me.

"..." I replied.

"No! Not you too!" Cait yelled.

"Nah I'm just screwing with you man! Consider that payback for the potion thing back in Cosmo Canyon!" I said as I laughed.

"Ah you got me." Cait said as he wagged his paw at me with a grin. Vincent began to speed up and head straight for the door.

"What's his problem?" Cait asked. I just shrugged.

"I think we annoyed him." I said as we walked to the door. Vincent opened the door and walked out into the room of the second floor of the mansion. Cait Sith and I quickly followed, catching up to him in no time.

"So, this is the entire gang." I said as I pointed to Cloud and everyone waiting below at the first floor. Everyone looked up at us when they heard my voice.

"Dammit Boto! How many times do I gotta tell ya! Stop Brigin' in random people to the group!" Barret shouted.

"Barret! Shut the Hell up before I make that saying my catch phrase!" I shouted back. Barret was about to yell something back When Cloud put up his hand to stop him.

"What's you're name?" Cloud asked calmly.

"Vincent." Vincent said.

"That guy looks creepy!" Yuffie shouted. Vincent seemed to ignore her comment. He continued to stare blankly at the group below.

'So, can we keep him?" Cait asked. Everyone gave Cait a weird look. I just started laughing silently to myself. Cloud just sighed.

"What do you guys think?" Cloud ashed as he turned to the group.

"I think he needs to lighten up a little." Barret said as he examined Vincent.

"I think he'll fit in." Aeris said as she smiled gently.

"I think he will too." Tifa said.

"I think he's an interesting character." Nanaki said.

"I still think he looks creepy!" Yuffie shouted.

"I think I need to get some friggin gil! I'm still broke!" I shouted out. Everyone gave me a weird look.

'What? I am." I said as I looked around at everyone. Cloud just sighed.

"Looks like your in." Cloud said. Vincent just nodded his head and slowly walked down the stairs.

"Alrighty then! We're to next boss?" Cait asked as the both of us began to walk down the stairs as well.

"We head for Mt. Nibel. We leave now. I don't want to stay here any longer then I have to." Cloud said as he began to walk towards the exit of the mansion.

"Yeah..." Tifa trailed off as she followed Cloud out. Everyone quickly followed him out.

When we reached the outside of the mansion it was already starting to get late in the evening. We took a left and passed by some more of the hooded people. We started to travel down a path that led to the mountains. We had to leave the buggy behind since we wouldn't be able to drive it through the mountains.

I had fallen to the back of the group along with Cait Sith. Well, almost to the back. Vincent had fallen back even further then us. It was understandable. Though it didn't really give me much of an opportunity to speak to Cait Sith since Vincent would most likely be observing us... Or he would be ignoring us.

Man, I really need to lay off the fanfics and just get to know the guy my self. Wow that sounds so weird!

Fortunately, Aeris decided to fall back as well and try speaking to Vincent.

"So, I'll take it that Cid's in Rocket Town?" Cait whispered to me.

"Yup, and after that we should be heading for Wutai. Oh, if you have nay materia on you I suggest you hide it well. Yuffie's going to rob everyone blind and run off." I whispered back.

"Really? Well I'll make sure to keep on eye on that. After that where are we heading." Cait asked.

"After that we head to this one shop owners place and learn of the keystone. Then we head back to the Gold Saucer to get it. Oh, Cloud also goes on a date, by the looks of it it's going to be with Aeris." I said as I looked over to Cloud. He was currently talking to Barret about Mt. Nibel and it's surroundings.

"Wait, you mean that it could have been with someone else?" Cait asked, giving me a curious look.

"Yup, depending on your interactions with the group, you could have either chosen from Aeris, Tifa, Yuffie and even Barret. Though with Cloud and Barret I think they're just hanging out." I said as I rubbed my chin.

"Now that's something I would have to see. On a different note, how many times have you beaten the game?" Cait asked. I nervously rubbed the back of my head.

"Well, about that... I've never really beaten the game. In fact, I've never made it past the first part of the game.." I said. Cait gave me a surprise look.

"Then how in blazes do you know what happens?" He asked, trying to keep his voice down.

"Easy, reading up on it over the internet and watching a crap tone of walk throughs. Besides, I've played, read and watched everything else." I reassured him.

"What else is there?" Cait asked.

"Well, you have Crisis Core, which Is all about the first class SOLDIER Zack Fair. Before Crisis, which is about the Turks. Then there just Final Fantasy VII, then you have On A Way To A Smile, a book which explains what happens after Meteor. The Advent Children, which you and Reeve have already seen. Then there's Dirge Of Cerberus, which believe it or not, Vincent back there is the main character for it." I said as I quickly glanced back at Vincent and Aeris.

Aeris was asking Vincent a lot of questions about him self. He didn't respond much. Only with a few 'Hms' and nods from his head.

I looked back at Cait Sith.

"So, am I a popular character?" Cait asked eagerly. I stared at him in silence.

"You'll always be one of my favorite characters Cait Sith." I said as I placed my hand on his shoulder. I then quickly took off to the front of the group.

"Thanks!... Hey wait a second!" Cait Shouted as he followed me to the front. I walked quickly to where Cloud and Barret where.

"Around this time of year the mountains are usually crawling with dragons so we have to be careful." Cloud explained to Barret.

"Well crap. I'm starting to run low on ammo." I threw my two cents in.

"Yeah well I checked, there aint no ammo shops back there so we have to move forward." Barret said.

"Stay on the alert, were about to enter into the mountains." Cloud said as we came upon an opening into the mountains.

We followed the long winding path through the mountains and straight to the bridge.

"This bridge is old. We should pass over it one at a time." Tifa said as she walked up to it.

"I'll go first." Cloud said as he walked up to it. He casually walked across the bridge. Next was Barret, each step he took caused the bridge to shake. The next to cross over was Tifa. She quickly strode across the bridge. The Aeris, she had the same effect. Next was Yuffie. She ran across the bridge, making it shake violently. After her it was Nanaki, he slowly padded his way across. Next was Cait Sith. He made his way across just like he would normally walk across things.

That left just me and Vincent. I glanced over at him and he glanced at me. I held my hand out to the bridge.

"Be my guest." I said. Vincent just stood there for a moment, not wanting to budge.

So, you want to play it that way. Then I'm not going to move until you move.

Both of us stood at the foot of the bridge in silence. Waiting for the other to make a move.

"Hurry up slow pokes!" Yuffie shouted at us from the other side of the bridge.

"I'm not a Pokemon!" I shouted back.

"A what?" Yuffie shouted back. I just ignored her.

"Go." Vincent ordered. I shook my head.

"Not until you go." I said.

"Go." Vincent said, eyes narrowing at me. His gaze was enough to kill a litter of puppies. I still stood my ground.

"Look, I can keep this up all..." I examined the sky, it was night now. "Night." I said.

I wasn't going to lose this stand off. If I give in now then this guy will just shove me around the rest of my life... Wait, that was for bullys at school. Why am I being stubborn with this guy again?

Before I could answer my self Vincent just started walking across the bridge.

Success! I beat Vincent at... What ever it was I was trying to beat him at!

Vincent had crossed the bridge, making seem like no one was on it at all. Once he was on the other side I quickly but carefully booked it across the bridge. It didn't really shake much.

"Bout damn time." Barret said when I finally made it to the other side. I just ignored him and continued on.

It wasn't long before we reached Materia Keeper.

"What's that thing doing?" Yuffie asked as we peered at it from the upper ledge.

"I think it's guarding something." Nanaki said.

"Think it's friendly?" Cait asked.

"Bout as friendly as a Nibel Bear on a rampage." Barret said.

"Either way, were taking it out." Cloud said as he readied his sword. Everyone readied their weapons.

"Okay, Boto, Barret and Vincent, you guys support us from up here. Aeris, Yuffie and Nanaki, I want you guys to attack him from mid range. The rest of us will attack him up close. Everyone got that?" Cloud said as he looked at the group. All of us nodded.

"Okay, on my mark. Three. Two. One... Goooooo-" When Cloud shouted go, his voice grew very slow and deep. His movements grew slow as well. In fact, everyone slowed down around me until it all froze.

"Guys?" I asked in a worried tone. My breathing started to become heavier as I looked around at everyone.

Cloud was stuck in mid jump, buster sword at the ready. Tifa was right behind him, while Nanaki was on the left side of him. Yuffie, Aeris and Cait Sith were quickly sliding down to the lower levers. Barret and Vincent were getting on opposite side of each other, guns trained on the giant scorpion. I was in the middle.

"Guys?" I asked again. Still, nothing. I moved closer to the ledge. What I saw made my eyes widen with terror.

Standing in front of Materia Keep was a very tall woman. She wore a long black dress, brown hair and pale skin. Her back was turned to me. She was petting the frozen Materia Keeper.

"My Child." Jenova said. Her voice was loud and clear. Also, it was very soothing.

How is she even here, how did she freeze everyone like this? This is bad, really. Come one man, pull your self together!

"Why do you continue to disobey me. You are running out of time." Jenova said as she turned to face me.

"You're not my mother." I said coldly. I readied Punisher and aimed it at her.

Now's not the time to lose you're nerve. You can take her out now! She just standing there!

"Don't try it." Jenova said. I ignored her and opened fire. Suddenly Jenova pulled out a sword from thin air, almost as if it just materialized into her hands. She moved so quickly and so fluently, all the bullets that were fly towards her were deflected with such ease. It looked like she was only moving her blade back and forth slowly but she was moving so much faster then that.

I stood my ground. I kept firing until Punisher started making a clicking sound, indicating that I was out of ammo.

I placed Punisher on the ground and pulled out the last pistol with ammo in it. I then pulled out a plasma grenade and activated it. It whined to life as a blue flame engulfed it.

"Come on!" I shouted as I charged at Jenova. I jumped from rock to rock to get down from the ledge. Jenova stood her ground.

I opened fire on her with my pistol. She just deflected the bullets. I was hoping that shooting her would give me an opportunity to get in close. It worked for a second. I got up close and tried to land the plasma grenade on her. She quickly kicked the grenade out of my hand. It sailed through the air and exploded.

Jenova then kicked me back. I flew and hit the rocks. I had no idea that she was this powerful. I didn't stop. I pulled out my EMR and charged at her again.

"Ruahhhhh!" I shouted as I fired the renaming bullets I had left. She just deflected them. I sparked them EMR to life and jumped at her. I swung down at her only for her for to catch my arm and swing me to the ground. Before I knew what was happening she had picked me up by the throat and began to choke me.

"I warned you my child, to not try it." She said as she raised me up into he air with just one hand. She used her other hand and scratched my face, leaving a cut on my cheek.

I struggled to breath as I grabbed her wrist and tried to break free. She wasn't going to let up on her death grip.

"You have no power to fight against me. Everything you have I've given to you. You cannot stop me." Jenova said calmly as she then place her hand over my chest.

"I have power over you." She said as she pressed her hands against my chest.

I felt an intense burning pain inside my chest. It was even harder to breath now then it was before. My vision was starting to become blurry. I gave up trying to struggle against her. When she saw this she brought me closer to her face and she whispered into my hear.

"Your time is running out my beloved. If you do not kill these people then I cannot guarantee that you will survive. For now, you will suffer." She said as she placed me back down onto the ground. She released her grip on my and I instantly fell to my knees, coughing up blood. I looked up just in time to her her walking towards Materia Keeper. She pulled out her sword and took one slash through it. She then phased though it and walked away.

I stayed on my knees, keeping my self up with my hands as I continued to cough up blood onto the ground. That burning feeling in my chest still stronger then ever.

"-oooo!" I heard Cloud voice slowly start to revert back to normal. I don't remember what happened after that.

* * *

><p>"On my mark. Three. Two. One... Go!" Cloud shouted as he jumped froward off the ledge, straight at their target. With in a blink of an eye, the giant monster was falling apart and Boto was on his knees coughing up blood right in front of it. His weapons where strewn all over the place.<p>

He almost lost his footing on the rock he landed on when he saw just exactly what was happening. Tifa slammed into him knocking both of them off the rock and straight onto the ground.

"Cloud! Get up we have to hurry before-" Tifa stopped yelling when she had seen what had happened.

"What in the..." Nanaki trailed off when he landed onto the ground.

"The Hell just happened? Did we win already?" Barret shouted from the upper ledge.

"Boto!" Aeris was the first to react. She quickly ran over to him and knelt down next to him. She instantly began using her cure materia on him. Cloud followed shortly after.

"Boto, what happened here?" Cloud asked after his coughing had died down. Boto didn't say anything, he just kept focusing on the ground.

"Boto?" Cloud shook him. He didn't say anything.

"He's in shock." Vincent said as he walked up to them, carrying Punisher on his back. He had also picked up his pistol and EMR.

"Think he'll be alright?" Cait asked when he had arrived next to the gathering group.

"He'll be fine. Foo always does somethin' crazy like this." Barret said as he walked up.

"The question is, why did this happen?"" Nanaki asked.

"I think we need to get out of here before we star wondering about what just happened." Tifa said. Cloud nodded in agreement.

"Tifa's right, this place is still dangerous. We run a higher risk of running into a Nibel Dragon. Cloud said as he stood up.

"Let's head out. We don't stop for anything. We head straight for the next town." Cloud said as he began to walk to where the fallen monster lay.

"Barret, could you carry him please?" Aeris asked as she stood up. She had finished using her cure materia. There was not telling if Boto was fully healed.

"Dumbass can't even walk." Barret mumbled as he hoisted Boto onto his back. The group began to move down the mountain. It wasn't to long before they heard a loud roar off in the distance.

"What was that?" Barret asked. Cloud halted the group and listened. Another roar could be heard.

"Damn." Cloud swore under his breath. He turned to look back at the group. "One of the dragons has picked up our trail. If we don't hurry we're going to run right into it." Cloud said as he broke into a jog. The group followed.

They were almost to the base of the mountain when the dragon let out a loud roar. It landed right on front of them. It let out another loud roar and took in a deep breath before releasing a wave of fire.

"Get back!" Cloud yelled to the group as he jumped back. He readied his buster sword and charged in. In the background gun shots could be heard. They did little to affect the dragon. Fortunately, Cloud was able to find a weak spot on the beast and rammed his sword into it. He rearranged his hands on the swords and jumped up into the air. He left a huge gash although it wasn't enough to take it out. Cloud landed on the ground and quickly jumped back.

The dragon let out a roar of pain and sprayed more fire at them.

"I'm on fire!" Cait shouted into his megaphone, sending a loud sonic wave from it straight at the dragon. Though what he shouted was true, the tip of his red cape caught on fire. He quickly patted it out and resumed fighting.

Suddenly another roar could be heard from behind them. Though it wasn't the sound of another dragon. It was something unknown. Before anyone knew what was going on a purple wolf-like creature landed right on top of the dragon, sending fireballs from his hands and clawing it to shreds.

The dragon let out another roar of pain and feel to the ground. The new beast standing on top of the lifeless body. Roaring in victory.

Everyone took their fighting stances, waiting for their new enemy to make a move. But it didn't, instead it just simply stood there. It was then engulfed in black matter and formed into Vincent. He stood there as though nothing had happened.

Everyone watched him in shock and aw at what they just witnessed, though they didn't wish to question him.

"Let's go." Vincent said as he walked to the back of the group and picked up Punisher. Everyone traveled in silence. Not knowing what to say about what just happened.

When Rocket Town finally came into view the sun was already starting to come up.

"So damn tired of carryin this dumbass all over the place." Barret said as they continued to walk.

"Just a little further Barret, we're almost there." Aeris said trying to sound comforting.

"Dumbass here has been asleep for hours." Barret said annoyed. They were all incredibly tired. The only ones that didn't look like they were tired were Cait Sith and Vincent.

"Yo new guy! How come you don't look tired?" Barret shouted at him.

"I've slept long enough." Was his reply.

"An' you?" He asked Cait Sith. Cait just shrugged. The awkward feeling of being around Vincent had died down after travailing all through out the night. Everyone was dead tired and stopped caring for now. Even Cloud was looking a little beat.

By the time they had reached Rocket Town it was the middle of the day. All of them quickly gathered into the inn.

"Okay, it's one hundred gil per room. How much to we have?" Cloud asked as he looked back at the group.

"Hold on, give us a sec." Tifa said as everyone started pulling what little gil they had.

"We have... a little over three hundred." Tifa said as she handed Cloud the gil. Cloud nodded his head and turned to the inn keeper. He payed for the rooms.

"Okay, let;s head to our rooms. We'll get some rest and continue searching tonight." Cloud said. Everyone that was tired gave a sigh of relief.

"Bout damn time. I aint carryin' this Dumbass no more." Barret said as he walked up the stairs of the inn. He walked into the first room that was theirs and threw Boto onto one of the bed and left to find another room.

As Barret walked down the hall to another room he saw Cait Sith pass him by. Shortly after Vincent passed by him as well. He didn't know where they were going and he sure as Hell didn't care. He just needed to get some sleep.

He opened up one of the doors to find Cloud and Nanaki already in there, asleep. He plopped down onto one of the beds and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>I woke up on a bed. My head felt incredibly fuzzy.<p>

"What the... How did I get here." I said as I stood up. I stood up a little to fast though because I instantly had a dizzy spell and almost fell over. I looked around the room and noticed that I was the only one in it. I slowly stood back up and re-examined the room.

Punisher was leaning against the wall next to the door. I walked over to it. A little note was on it that said one word 'Reloaded'. I opened up the left side it and saw that it was completely stocked. I then opened up the right side of it and checked all the pistols, each one was loaded. I check the top as well, the rocket launcher was loaded as well.

"Yes." I said as I did a fist pump. "Didn't have to spend a single gil." I said as I picked up Punisher and placed it on my back. I walked back over to the bed I was sleeping on and noticed right next to it was a stand. On it was my EMR. I picked it up and tied it around one of the notches in my pants. I looked out the window and saw that the sun was in the middle of the sky. It was noon.

"Where am I?" I asked out loud. I examined the outside surroundings and noticed a huge rocket tilting to one side.

"Wait, if that's a rocket then that means... We're in Rocket Town! Oh crap! How long have I been out for? Did everyone leave? Did they already get to the Tiny Bronco? Crap!" I shouted as I bolted out the door and ran as fast as I could outside. I almost fell down the stairs when I accidentally missed a step. When I had reached the bottom I ran straight for the front door and swung it open. I took of only to run right into Cait Sith. I tripped over his moogle and knocked Cait off of it.

"Holy crap!" I shouted once I realized what had just happened. His moogle stopped moving while Cait struggled to get back up on his feet. I quickly went over to him and pulled hum up by his paw. He was actually really short when we wasn't on his moogle. He was also incredibly light weight.

"Thanks." Cait said as I dangled him in mid air.

"No problem." I said as I placed him back onto his mog. The little distraction had almos made me forget why I was in such a hurry.

"Crap! Cait! Where's everyone at!" I shouted, trying to find out where Cid's house was located.

"Everyone's asleep. Well, except for Vincent, he's been up all night and day so far. He also disappeared." Cait said as he rubbed his chin.

"Why's everyone still asleep?" I shouted.

"We arrived here about thirty minuets ago. It's a wonder no one passed out before hand. But that's not the issue right now. The real problem is what happened last night when we were about to fight that giant scorpion." Cait said.

"The what?" I had to stop and think about what he was talking about. I didn't remember much of what happened last night.

"The giant scorpion thing, remember? It was cut to ribbons by you or something." Cait said. I thought back through the boss battles that go on before hand. The only one I could think of would be Materia Keeper.

Then it hit me. Jenova had manifested her self into a physical form.

"Boto, do you remember what happened?" Cait asked. I looked down at my feet.

"Yeah..." I said silently.

"Then what happened?" Cait asked as he slid closer to me.

"Jenova... Somehow physically manifested her self into what looked like a human form." I said.

"What?" Cait asked in a shocked tone. I continued.

"She somehow froze everything around me. I tried to fight her... I didn't stand a chance. She was just so powerful. She told me that... My time was running out. When she left she, she just seemed to have cut down the monster with one stroke of her sword." I said as I tried to recall everything that I could remember.

"Wait, she had a human body?" Cait asked. I nodded my head.

"She wore a black dress. She was able to physically touch everything around us." I said.

"Then why didn't she just kill all of us then and there?" Cait asked. I shrugged.

"I don't. I think she... She might want me to prove myself to her." I said.

"What? That doesn't make any sense." Cait said. I nodded my head in agreement.

"I know but for now, it's the only thing I could think of as to why she didn't." I said as I rubbed my head. I noticed that my chest no longer burned. Both of us went silent for a bit.

"You do realize that the rest of the group is going to want an explanation, right?" Cait said, finally breaking the silence.

"I know." I said.

"Then what are you going to tell them?" Cait asked.

"I'm going to tell them that it was a woman dressed in black." I said.

"Why not just tell the truth?" Cait exclaimed.

"Well, let's say that I did. What would they be able to do about it?" I asked as I looked up at Cait Sith. He said nothing.

"If I were to tell them then the only thing that would do is just cause them to worry or panic or what ever. They don't need to know." I said.

"You do realize that this lie will come crashing down on you." Cait said in a very serious tone.

"I know. I tell them, when the tome is right." I said. Both of us went silent. It wasn't to long before the sound of a couple of trucks could be heard pulling up. Both of us looked over and saw a truck. A very large man stepped out from it. Shortly after Rufus stepped out as well.

"Oh crap! There here already! Get down now!" I said to Cait Sith. He quickly jumped off of his moogle and hid behind a nearby bush. I did the same thing.

"Hey-hey, I'll go ahead now!" The large man said. Shortly after a couple of guards came out from the back of the truck.

"I'll drive this thing around back." The guard that was driving the truck shouted. He went into reverse and took off.

"That's Palmer. He's here with Rufus Shinra to take a plane from Cid." Cait whispered to me.

"I know, I just didn't think he would be here so early.." I whisper back. Palmer walked past the bushes Cait and I were hiding in. He was mumbling to him self.

"Dumb President, always making me do the hard work. Oh great, kids are leaving their toys out in the streets now to." He mumbled as he walked past the moogle. Shortly after Rufus Shinra and his guards walked past us and straight to Cid's house. Palmer was already inside.

"Crap! We were already supposed to be in Cid's house talking to him and Shera! We don't have enough time to wake everyone up! Now they're going to get the Tiny Bronco before we do! What do we do?" I asked, racking my brain for ideas.

"Well, we could just stroll in their casually and take the plane." Cait suggested calmly.

"Cait, that's the dumbest idea I've heard today. It'll never work." I said as I looked over to him.

"You have any better ideas?" Cait asked I went silent.

Huh, I really don't have any better ideas.

"Let's roll." I said as I stood up. Cait hopped onto his feet. I picked him up and placed him onto his moogle. Both of us started walking to Cid's house.

"So, what's the plan?" Cait asked.

"Wait, you haven't though of anything yet?" I asked. Cait just shrugged.

"Screw it, we'll just wing it." I said.

When we started getting close to it we saw Cid exit from his house.

"Well it's about damn time! When are we gonna get this here rocket into space?" Cid asked as he lit a cigaret.

"That's not what we're here for." Rufus said bluntly.

"What the...!" Cid nearly dropped the cigaret from his mouth. "You got me all excited for nothing! Then, what'd you come here for?" Cid demanded.

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco. We're going after Sephiroth. But it seems like we're going in the wrong direction. But now, we think we know where he's headed. But we have to cross the ocean. That's why we want your plane. We believe he's going to a place called The Temple of the Ancients." Rufus said calmly.

"Shit! First the Airship, then the Rocket, and now, the Tiny Bronco. Shinra took outer space away from me and now you want to take the sky away from me too!" Cid shouted.

"Oh my. You seem to forget it was because of Shinra. Inc. that you were able to fly in the first place." Rufus said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"What!" Cid shouted. It was then that he noticed us. "Who are you dumbasses supposed to be!" Cid shouted at me and Cait Sith.

"Let's book it!" I shouted. Both Cait Sith and I started running as fast as we could to Cid's house.

"Outta the way pretty boy!" I shouted as we shoved past Rufus and his guards.

"What the...? Open fire!" Rufus shouted. We were just about to make it to the door when the bullets started flying.

"Oh shit! Get down!" Cid shouted. Cid hit the floor, covering his head. Cait Sith did the same thing. I quickly pulled out Punisher and took cover behind that.

"What the Hell are you dumbasses doing!" Cid shouted. Suddenly a loud bang could be heard in the distance. A bullet flew straight into one of the guards' chest. He fell to the ground quickly.

"They've got a sniper!" The remaining guard shouted. The guard and Rufus quickly took cover behind another building. Bullets were still being shot from the guard and the sniper.

I looked around to try and find where the sniper was. Off in the distance, on top of the rocket, you could barely see Vincent with a sniper rifle. The door to Cid's house opened up.

"Quick! Get inside!" Shera shouted. The three of us took quickly piled inside of the house.

"What the Hells' goin on!" Cid shouted.

"No time to explain, we need to get to your plane! Now!" I shouted as I tried to remember where the backdoor was.

"It's over there." Shera said calmly as she pointed down the hallway.

"Thanks!" I shouted as I took of down the hall.

"Dammit!" Cid shouted as he and Cait Sith followed me. I practically kicked the backdoor down. I ran outside to see Palmer trying to fit into the cockpit.

"Oh man, I don't work well under pressure." He said as he began pressing buttons and flipping switches at random. The engine started and the propellers began to spin.

"What the Hell do ya think you're doin fat ass!" Cid Shouted when he made it outside.

"Guh, I'm-I'm taking what belongs to Sh-Shinra." Palmer stuttered. I pointed Punisher at him.

"I'll give you to the count 'Get the Hell out of that plane' to get the Hell out of that plane!" I shouted. I shot up into the air, giving him a warning shot.

"Oh geeze! I don't want to die!" Palmer shouted as he tried to squeeze out of the plane. He ended up rolling out of it and onto the ground. He stumbled back and, only to trip over the fence. When he got back up he broke out into a dead sprint. Only to be hit by the truck from earlier.

The three of us quickly ran over to the plane. Cid hopped onto it and got into the cockpit.

"Damn that fat ass! It's stuck on auto pilot and all the controls are frozen!" Cid shouted.

"What do we do?" Cait shouted.

"Shit, hop on!" Cid shouted. Cait and I jumped onto the plane as it began to take off. The plane instantly took off. Both Cait and I were hanging onto the wings for our dear lives.

The plane flew towards the rocket and started going up. When we reached the top of it I saw that Vincent was standing there with his sniper rifle. When it was close enough, he quickly jumped on, latching his gauntlet onto the plane. The plane quickly did a nose dive.

I was half tempted to throw my hand into the air but at the risk of falling off and dying, I stopped my self.

The plane straightened itself out and flew directly over Cid's house. The guard that was taking cover behind one of the building started firing at us. One of his bullets hit the tail to the Tiny Bronco. Sparks started shooting out of it.

'Shit! The tails been hit!" Cid shouted.

"Dammit!" I screamed. We managed to make it out into open water before the plane started to go down.

"This's gonna be a big splash! Hold onto your drawers and don't piss in 'em!" Cid shouted. The plane hit the water. It jolted all of us forward a little bit. The plane seemed to float just fine.

"She won't fly anymore." Cid said checking out the Tiny Bronco. He was almost in the water. He quickly pulled himself up and pulled out a cigaret. He lit it and took a long drag from it. He then exhaled.

"Shit, who are you guys anyway?" Cid asked as he examined me, Cait Sith and Vincent.

"I'm Robert, just call me Boto. That's Cat Sith and he's Vincent." I said, pointing to the two.

"Hi!" Cait said cheerfully.

"Hm." Vincent grunted as he nodded his head. Cid took a long look at us before responding. He pointed at me first.

"You look like a dumbass." He pointed at Cait Sith next. "You look like a jackass." He said to Cait. "And you, you look like darkness with skin on." He said to Vincent as he took another drag from his cigaret.

"And you look like a grease monkey." I said as I pointed at him. Cid just laughed.

"Well shit, looks like we have a smart ass as well. So tell me, what the Hell are you guys doin here." Cid asked. I explained to him the whole situations. It didn't take to long.

"Hm, I see." Cid said as he lit another cigaret. He seemed to think for a little bit. After taking a few more drag from his cigaret he spoke.

"Okay, I'm goin with you numbskulls." Cid said.

"Numbskulls?" Cait asked.

"That's right. You dumbasses are dumb enough to go after Shinra. I like it. Plus, you're gonna need some transportation, you numbskull can use this as a boat, she aint flyin no more." Cid said.

"Well alright then. First, we have to go back to Rocket Town." I said as I pointed to the shore. We were quite a distance away from it.

"What the Hell for?" Cid asked.

"Well, you see, we left the rest of out group back at the inn." I said.

"Shit." Cid said.

Well, not exactly how it was supposed to go but hey, it got the job done.

* * *

><p><em>AN: The whole gangs here now! Next up, Wutai! Also, thank you Mediacat15 for the suggestion. I'll see what I can do with that. See you guys in the next chapter!_


	20. Chapter 20: Expecting The Unexpected

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I wouldn't be writing a fanfic about something I own.**_

_A/N:Alright, with this I'm going through Wutai! It's either going to be in the next chapter or the one after for when the plot I've had planned starts to come into play. I really hope it's a surprise. As I've stated before, with this story I can actually go all the way to Dirge Of Cerberus. Even past that. Would you guys like that to happen? Let me know. Also, let me know what I can do to improve my story. Remember to review please!_

* * *

><p>Chapter Twenty: Expecting The Unexpected<p>

"Hey Vincent, where did you get the sniper rifle from?" I asked as Cid steered the Tiny Bronco back to shore. Vincent just stared at me before answering.

"Your gun." Is all he said. I gave him a confused look.

"What?" I asked.

"I went to have it reloaded for you. The owner of the weapons shop liked your gun. Told him if he wanted to examine it it would cost him." Vincent said bluntly.

"So then what were you doing on top of the rocket?" I asked.

"Thinking." Vincent said.

"Really? That's cool." I said. Vincent didn't say anything back.

That's probably the most we're going to be hearing out of Vincent.

"So, I never caught your name." Cait said after a long silence.

"The name's Cid, Cid Highwind. An' don't you forget it." Cid said while he steered the plane.

"So, what's you're story?" I asked. I know I really didn't need to but due to the fact that I'm trying to keep the ruse of me not knowing what's supposed to happen up, I asked.

"Well, you see the lovely lady off in the distance." Cid said while pointing to the rocket. I nodded my head.

"I was supposed to fly her into space." Cid said.

"What happened?" Cait asked. Cid went on to explain to us his story about how he was going to be the first man into space but it all went horribly wrong. How he ended up having to cancel the launch in order to save Shera.

"Who's Shera? Cait asked.

"Just shut the Hell up already." Cid said annoyed.

I think he's mad about having to relive his past.

Cait put his head down in disappointment. I patted him on the back.

When we began to get close to the shore we saw that the whole group was waiting for us there. All of them looked exhausted I stood up and started waving my arms like a lunatic.

"Hey guys! Look what we scored!" I shouted to them.

"Sit your five dollar ass down before I make it into some change!" Cid shouted at me. I gave him a confused look before responding.

"W-what does that even mean?" I asked as I slowly put my arms down trying to mull over his words.

"Just sit down!" He shouted. I slowly sat down.

"How'd you guys know that we would be here?" I asked when we finally pulled up to the shore.

"How could any of us sleep with all that noise going on!" Yuffie shouted.

* * *

><p>She was sleeping face down on her pillow, drooling and snoring rather loudly. After travailing all day and all night with no rest who wouldn't be tired. She slightly woke to some clicking sounds. She just ignored it and tried to go back to sleep. The clicking sounds continued along with the roar of an engine. She groaned and put the pillow on top of her head, trying to drown out the noise.<p>

"It's to early." She grumbled. The engine grew louder. She tried to bury her head deeper into her pillow but the noise just wouldn't go away. Suddenly the door burst open.

"Everyone! We need to go outside! Now!" It was Cloud before taking off down the hall.

Ugh, can't a girl just sleep in peace! She thought to her self.

"Just five more minuets." She mumbled.

"Yuffie! We have to get up!" This time it was Tifa. Foots steps could be heard outside in the hall. They were all running in the same direction. Yuffie still refused to get out of bed.

"Yuffie, get up." Aeris was speaking now. She grabbed her pillow and blindly threw it in any direction. She heard it hit something. That something then fell over and broke.

Perfect. Yuffie thought to her self.

"Yuffie!" Tifa shouted.

"Ugh, Boobs what's your problem?" Yuffie groaned as she lifted her head up. The engine noise slowly started to die down. Yuffie put her head back down onto the mattress, trying to go back to sleep. As she was starting to drift back to sleep she felt some one grab her leg and pull her out of bed.

"Hey!" She shouted as she felt the mattress slide out from underneath her. She quickly hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow! Okay okay, I'm up! Jeez! What's with all the yelling!" Yuffie shouted as she slowly lifted her self off the floor.

"Something's going on outside, we have to hurry." Tifa said as she grabbed Yuffie by the arm and pulled her out the door.

"Ow! Not so rough! I need my arm for fighting!" Yuffie whined as she was dragged down the stairs.

"Stop complaining, everyone's already outside." Tifa said as she pulled Yuffie along.

Tifa swung the front door to the inn open and ran outside, pulling Yuffie along with her. They had just enough time to see a truck pull away from the town.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked. The rest of the group was watching the whole event unfold.

"Well, it looks like Rufus Shinra was just here. I don't know why he was but Vincent, Cait Sith and Boto just flew away on a plane." Cloud said as he pointed in the direction the plane went.

"You woke me up for that!" Yuffie shouted. Everyone ignored her protests.

"We need to figure what just happened." We'll ask round town first and then head over to where the plane took off to." Cloud ordered the group.

"Great, work with not even an hour of sleep." Yuffie mumbled to her self as she stumbled away as the group quickly scattered. Yuffie drowsily stumbled around the town "trying" to find out just what evil would cause her to to lose her precious sleep. What ever it was it would pay dearly. The price would be their soul or their first born child. She hasn't decided yet.

Before she new it Cloud was calling everyone back to the center of the town. She dragged her feet to the rest of the group.

"What's the news?" Barret asked.

"Well, I spoke to a woman named Shera. Apparently Rufus Shinra had come here earlier trying to get a plane from the man she lives with, named Cid Highwind. Though for some odd reason Boto and Cait Sith stepped in to stop them. I don't know why Vincent was with them but the four of them took off on the plane. We should go catch up with them." Cloud said.

"Those two always seem be getting into trouble." Aeris said.

"They do, now it seems like they're dragging more people with them." Nanaki said. The group began to move into the direction of the plane. It was pretty far out there. It actually managed to make it all the way out into the ocean. When the reached the shore they saw that the planed and made a crash landing onto the water. The planes was traveling towards them.

"Hey guys! Look what we scored!" Boto shouted as we waved his arms in the air.

* * *

><p>"So what the Hell happened here?" Barret asked when everyone stepped off the plane.<p>

"Well, I saw that Rufus Shinra was trying to take a plane. I figured that if they need it we would need it." I said as I placed both of my hands behind my head. I grinned.

"Well, it's good to see that Dumbass here isn't travalin' with just two other people." Cid said as he lit a cigarette. "The names Cid Highwind." He said as he extended his hand out to anyone who would shake it. Cloud took him up on his offer and shook his hand.

"Cloud Strife. Ex-SOLDIER first class." Cloud said. He then went on to introduce the rest of the group to Cid.

Good good, it's seems that my interference here has had little affect on Cid joining the group. This is good but the simple fact is I need to make some more changes. I've done some stuff but not enough. Crap, I still need to come up with a way to stop this whole Aeris and her dying thing from happening. Also, stop Sephiroth from summoning Meteor. If I could do that then Aeris won't even need to summon holy which means that she won't even have to go to the temple which means-

"Boto!" Tifa shouted at me.

"Huh? What?" I said quickly as I lost my train of thought.

"Cloud asked you what happened." Tifa said as she folded her arms.

"What happened where?" I asked in a confused tone.

"After you passed out." Cloud said.

Damn, I was hoping that they would've forgotten by now.

"Don't worry about it." Is the only thing I said. Which I regretted saying after the words flew out of my mouth. A fist quickly struck me across the face. I quickly plummeted to to ground and hit it with a very loud thud.

"Don't ever say that to us." Tifa said, sounding very serious, standing above me.

Owww! The frig! That hurt!

"Damn, she can pack a punch." I heard Cid whisper.

"Wh-What?" I asked in a painfully confused voice.

"You are apart of this group, this dysfunctional family. When one of us in in trouble we help them out. Don't you dare try to shrug us off and say 'Don't worry about it'. Now, tell us what happened." Tifa said, trying to keep her voice calm. Everyone went silent.

"There was a woman in black." I began. "I don't know her but somehow, she seems so familiar." I said as I slowly lifted my self off the floor.

Hey, I might as well try and tie it in with the whole "No Memories" thing. Gotta keep that thing alive so they don't think that I'm just making that up.

"What do you mean?" Nanaki asked.

"I-I don't know. I don't know her but at the same time I feel that I do. It's like, I know her from my child hood..." I trailed off.

Man, I'm not even buying this bull crap.

"Your child hood?" Nanaki asked. I nodded my trying to think of ways to continue this act.

"Yeah, I just woke up in Midgar one day barely remembering a thing." I said.

"Hm?" Vincent hummed as he arched an eyebrow.

Oh crap, if this guy catches onto me I'm screwed! Come on Robert! Put on your best poker face!

I tried my best to keep my face looking as though I were in deep thought.

"Look, we don't have time to just sit around a talk. We have to keep moving." Cloud said.

Yes! Saved by the bell! Hey, if I keep this up I might even get my own little side quest. Though that would be rather hard to pull off... Meh, I'll worry about it later.

"Well, looks like I picked the weirdest group to do my travalin' with." Cid said as he climbed back onto the plane.

As I was walking back to the plane someone place their hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find that it was Barret.

"Hey, if that woman in black comes back, don't hide it next time." Barret said seriously. I nodded my head.

Wow, even Barret's concerned. Though Jenova manifesting her self into a human physical form is something to be concerned about. But Barret doesn't know that.

"Hey, one question. When I was knocked out, why didn't you just use a phoenix down on me?" I asked. Barret stopped to think.

"Because dumbasses like you don't deserve them." Barret said as he punched me in the arm.

Jerk!

"So, where to next?" Aeris asked when everyone was on board.

"Oh, I say we head west!... No reason, just... A hunch." Yuffie said. Cloud seemed to think it over before responding.

"Well, I guess we could check out there. Until then, I suggest we get some rest." Cloud said.

Okay, time to keep a close on on my materia.

The Tiny Bronco began to head west. It was about mid day when everyone decided to catch up on the sleep that they had missed. Well, Everyone besides Cid, Vincent, Cait Sith and myself. Yuffie tried to but due to her being sea sick she wasn't able to.

"Ugh, I'm not gonna get any sleep." Yuffie whined after the fourth time of throwing up. It was already getting late into the night.

"Would you quit yappin' you little brat." Cid said as he steered the plane along the water. Yuffie hadn't been quiet about her sea sickness for the entire trip. It was getting on Cid's nerves. I actually found it quite funny.

"I'm not- urk- never mind." Yuffie said before laying back down. Vincent was sitting on the tail of the wing while Cait Sith sat on the edge of the left wing with me. Everyone else was sprawled out around the plane trying to sleep.

"So, when's Yuffie supposed to take our materia." Cait Sith whispered to me. I shrugged.

"I really don't know." I replied. Suddenly Cloud shot up.

"Cid" He said silently.

"Yeah what do ya want?" Cid said, still annoyed by Yuffie.

"Why don't you let me take over. I've had enough rest for the day. Besides, I hate feeling useless." Cloud said as he slowly crept his way over to Cid.

"You know how to fly this babe?" Cid asked.

"You could show me." Cloud said, sitting down next to Cid.

"Well, you see this lever right here, don't you dare touch it. If you do I'll cut your hand off with a rust fork. Now then..." Cid went on to explain to Cloud how to steer the plane. Everyone started waking up shortly after.

"Where are we?" Aeris asked ash she sat up and stretched.

"Somewhere west." I said bluntly.

"Smart ass." I heard Barret say.

"Shut the Hell up Barret." I said.

"You two better not start." Tifa warned. Both if us shut up instantly.

"Ughhhh." Yuffie groaned as she sat up. "How far down the coast are we?" Yuffie asked in a very sickly tone.

"Pretty far down it." Cid said. Yuffie proceeded to mumble something to her self. Though I really didn't catch what she was saying.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm gonna get some sleep. I've been up all day. I said as I leaned back against Cait Sith, my back against his.. I leaned close to Cait Sith.

"Watch Yuffie for me." I whispered. He nodded his head. To be honest, for a robot Cait Sith and his mog were actually quit soft. I closed my eyes and let myself slowly drift off into sleep.

"Oi, Boto, wake up." I felt someone nudging at me.

"Huh?" I said as I leaned forward.

"We're here... Where ever here is." Cait said. I stood up and examined my surroundings. The sun was just starting to rise. He were at a shore near some cliffs.

As, so this is the spot where Yuffie takes all out materia.

I checked my bangle, my materia was still there. I checked my pockets, my extra materia was still there.

Awesome, so far so goo- Wait, why is Yuffie sprawled put on the beach sleeping?

Yuffie was laying down on the ground, dead asleep.

"She wouldn't shut her damn mouth all night and now she's passed out." Cid said as he stepped out onto the beach.

"She ended up staying awake the entire time." Tifa said.

"Well, someone's going to have to carry her." Cloud said. Everyone looked over to Barret.

"What? You expect me to do it?" Barret asked.

"I have my sword to carry." Cloud said as he pointed his thumb at his sword.

"Let's face it, you're stronger then me." Tifa said.

"Please Barret." Aeris pleaded.

"Do you really expect me to carry her?" Nanaki asked.

"Dude, I'm already ready carrying this puppy. I can promise you this, it's a crap tone heavier then Yuffie." I said as I reached over my left shoulder and patter Punisher.

"I'm not well suited for carrying people." Cait Sith said.

"..." Vincent said.

"I ain't carryin' that brat." Cid spat.

"Well I... Dammit!" Barret shouted as he picked up Yuffie and carried her on his back.

"You all owe me for this." Barret mumbled. All of us began to travel up the cliff.

"So, when's our stuff supposed to get stolen?" Cait leaned over to me and whispered.

"We;;, It was supposed to be stolen right about now but Yuffie's out like a light. This wasn't supposed to happen." I whispered back.

"There they are, catch 'em!" Someone shouted off int he distance. We looked up and saw two MP's headed towards us.

"Shinra!" Cloud said as he drew his sword.

"Hey, that's no them! These are the other guys from before!" One of the MP's shouted.

"No, we are not the droids you are looking for! Now just move along!" I shouted at them as I motioned my hands for them to go away.

"What? Did he just say droids?" The MP on the left shouted.

"Who cares! Just grab them and ask questions later!" The MP on the right shouted.

"Aw shit!" Cid shouted as both of them charged in.

Okay, this should be incredibly easy! I'll just stay back at let them do the fighting.

Aeris was the first to respond. The first MP to run up to us went after Aeris. She pulled out her staff and quickly jabbed the MP in the stomach. She spun around and swung her staff, causing it to hit the MP right behind his head. He was out.

Tifa was next. She charged forward and the remaining MP. The MP fired his gun and shot out a type of sleeping gas. Tifa lid under it and kicked out the MP'a knees. He was about to fall forward when Tifa quickly jumped up and punched the MP in the jaw. He flew backwards and was instantly knocked out. The fight whole fight was over in less then thirty seconds. I started laughing loudly.

"What's so funny?" Cloud asked.

"The fact that they thought it would be a good idea to go after the women in our group first." I said while laughing. Cloud just shrugged.

"Let's keep moving." Cloud said as he lead the way. As we walked, going through the mountains and crossing shaky bridge after shaky bridge, an idea struck me. I fell back to where Vincent was.

"Hey, Vincent." I began. He said nothing. I didn't now if he wanted me to speak to hi or not. I decided to anyway.

"How is it that you were able to stay in the coffin for so long?" I asked. I already knew the answer, it was due to his regenerating ability's, though he didn't know that I knew that.

"Rapid regeneration." Is all Vincent said. To be honest, I was surprised he told me.

"Hm, interesting. Does that count for your organs as well?" I asked. He arched an eye brow at me.

"I suppose." He dead paned. I grinned.

Okay, if this plans works then when we reach Wutai we should be swimming in gil! Since Yuffie is still passed out she won't be able to take out materia. The Turks should be able to take care of Don by themselves. Look, I have to improvise here since I really don't know what we're going to be doing in Wutai now.

"Vincent, when was the last time you were drunk?" I asked. Vincent just looked at me.

"What does that have to to do with this?" He asked.

"Now, just hear me out. I was thinking that maybe in the next town we stop in we could make some gil by having you do a drink-" Vincent cut me off.

"Not interested." He said coldly.

"Wait wait wait! Let me finish! When you drink alcohol it's supposed to be filtered through you liver right? And when it has to much the liver is damaged, thus causing the person to become intoxicated right? Well, said person can't get drunk if their liver can't be damaged right?" I said with a grin.

"So you want me to challenge people to a drinking contest for your own personal gain?" Vincent asked.

"Not my own personal gain, it's for the entire group. Think about it, the only thing you need to do is just sit down, have a few drinks and look good doing it. We get some gil, the other people get drunk, everyone walks away happy." I said. Vincent just went silent and walked away.

"Just think about!" I shouted at him.

"Think about what?" Aeris asked.

"Huh, oh, just trying to get Vincent to do some stuff is all." I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Yeah, Vincent can be a hard shell to crack. I've tried talking to him but he just responds with his 'Hms' and nods." Aeris said.

"Ha ha, yeah, he's a real bastard like that." I laughed. Aeris laughed as well.

"So, what do you think we'll fin here?" Aeris asked. I shrugged my shoulder.

"I don't know. I think Wutai might be in this area." I said.

"That would explain why Yuffie wanted to come here. To see her hometown." Aeris said with a light smile.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said.

Though the real reason was so that she could take all of out materia then run off. Though it looks like that isn't going to happen.

It was mid day when we finally reached Wutai. We entered the village and took in the surroundings.

Well, this is as close to Japan as I'm ever going to be. Might as well explore the area.

"Okay, let's find an inn or something to stay at for today." Cloud said as he lead the group. We really couldn't tell which one was the inn since everything was written in Japanese, or in this case, Wutainese. So Cloud being Cloud just started barging into places at random. Until we hit the building with a giant turtle on it, Turtles Paradise. As Cloud and everyone entered I stopped just outside of it. As far as I knew, I was still on bad terms with Reno.

"What'cha stopin' for" Batter asked.

"Meh, no reason really, just... Looking at the huge turtle is all." I hesitated before entering. When all of us walked in there were three Turks sitting around a table. Reno, Elena and Rude. All three of them looked over at us.

"Son of a bitch! Not you again!" Reno shouted when he saw me. He then proceeded to slam his head into the table.

"Y-you! How did you guys get here!" Elena shouted as she jumped up from her spot. "Never mind that. I guess it's fate that brought us together. Get ready to die!" Elena shouted as she readied her self for a fight. I put my hands up in defense.

"Whoa whoa whoa, we're not here to start a fight." I said as I slowly walked over to them. I pulled out the EMR, yellow materia and Reno's wallet. I then slid the supplies over to Reno.

"What's this?" He asked as he lifted his head up to see what I was giving him.

"Look Mr. Human Torch, I don't wan you or the Fantastic Four after me so here's your stuff back.. Though I'm keeping the goggles. They're pretty kick awesome. Here, you can have this instead." I said as I tossed him my cover materia.

"Boto! What are you doing!" Cloud said.

"You're helping the enemy!" Tifa shouted. I held my hand to silence the protests. Reno examined his now recovered belonging in silence.

"You're keeping the goggle huh?" Reno asked.

"Yup, also, I won't be repaying you your stolen gil. I'm flat broke." I said with a grin. Reno continued to look at his stuff before looking over at me. He then busted up laughing.

"Ha ha ha, oh man, and you think that this'll make everything better?" Reno asked while laughing loudly

"Yeah, I don't see why not." I said while a shrugged. Reno just laughed harder.

"Wh-What's going on! Elena shouted.

"Elena, sit down before you make the booze taste bad." Rude said as he took a swing from his drink. Reno just continued to laugh like a mad man.

"I think we should leave now." Aeris said as she slowly crept to the door. Everyone followed suit.

"Well, that was awkward." Nanaki said once all of us where outside.

Oh crap! Speaking of Nanaki, I almost forgot.

I dug into one of my pockets and pulled out the paper that was supposed to be his limit break.

"Nanaki! Here, can you read this?" I said as I held out the paper to him. He gave me a curious look before looking at the paper. His eyes widened once as he skimmed over it.

"This writing is in the language of my tribe. Where did you find it?" Nanaki asked. I shrugged.

"It was in the mansion back at Nibelheim. I forgot all about." I said. Nanaki lightly took it into his mouth and nodded his head.

"Huh? Wha...?" Yuffie said groggily as she slowly began to wake up.

"Bout damn time you woke up!" Barret said as he dropped her onto the ground. She landed in her back with a thud.

"Owwww!" What was that for!" Yuffie shouted.

"For bein an idiot." Barret said.

"Well you know what! You can just take a stick and shove it u your- Wait, Where are we?" Yuffie said as she began to examine her surroundings.

"Wutai." Cloud answered for her.

"What!" She shouted as she quickly jumped to her feet. She quickly started to run around, stopping to look around, making sure that Cloud wasn't lying to her and that we were actually somewhere else.

"Jeez, you're panicking as though a plan to take all out materia just went horrible wrong." I said with a grin. Yuffie turned to look at me, her eyes wide with horror.

Bingo, I just hit the nail on the head. Of course, me being the jerk that I am, I just had to point it out.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about! I did have us go here for that! We came here so I can... So I can... Take on the Pagoda!" She shouts as she points to a tower off into the distance.

Ah yes, that good ol' Pagoda. Know to hold the strongest people in Wutai... Where was I going with this?

"The Pagoda?" Cloud repeats.

"That's right! For years I've wanted to prove to everyone that I'm the greatest ninja who's ever lived! And today I'm going to prove it!" Yuffie shouted.

"Believe it." I mumbled.

Sorry, I really couldn't help it.

"How will you do that?" Tifa asked.

"It's simple, the tower has Wutai's strongest warriors in it. In order to prove my self worthy I'm going to challenge all five of them!" Yuffie said triumphantly, as though she had already won.

"Do you need us to go with you?" Aeris asked, concern in her voice.

"Pshaw, I'll be fine." Yuffie said as she waved Aeris's words away.

"So wait, you're taking on the tower by your self?" I asked. Yuffie thumbed her nose and gave us a cocky grin.

"You bet I am. I have to show my old man that I can take on the five no problem." Yuffie said.

Oh yeah, Yuffie doesn't know that her dad his last boss.

"Who's your old man?" Cid asked.

Why do you care?

"I've told you before, I'm the princess of Wutai." Yuffie said proudly.

"No, never told me that." Cid said. Yuffie crossed her arms and gave Cid a sour face.

"Well I am now!" Yuffie shouted.

"So that means...?" Cid said. He was egging Yuffie. His hand was covering his mouth by I could see a grin on it.

"That means he's the emperor of this place!" Yuffie shouted as she stomped her right foot in frustration.

"Which means...?" Cid rolled his right hand forward in a circular motion, gesturing Yuffie to explain more.

"Which means I'm a princess!" Yuffie shouted. Everyone was starting laugh a little now, well, everyone being Cid, Barret and myself.

"What's so funny!" Yuffie shouted at me.

"He's playing you like a card!" I laughed.

"It's not funny! I'm being serious! This place used to be a beautiful thriving village! Now look at what Shinra's done to it! It's a pathetic tourist attraction! I need to show my old man that we can still fight!" Yuffie shouted.

Wow, it looks like she's about to punch some one in the face.

I try to put in my best poker face and be serious.

"Okay. Yuffie, if you don't want any of us going in there with you then here, take this." I said as I pulled my fire materia off of my bangle and handed it to Yuffie. Ger eyes widened with surprise as to what I was giving her.

"It's pretty close to gaining more power." I said as she took it from my hand.

More power? Is that how you say it? I don't really think that they would say level up. Oh well, no one seems to be questioning it so I guess I'm good.

Yuffie formed a huge grin on her face, it looks as though she just found... Well, materia.

"Thank you Boto!" She shouted out ash she quickly attaches it to her bangle.

"Yuffie, take this as well." Aeris said as she handed her the cure materia. Judging by th size of it, it was already level three. Yuffie gladly took that and placed it onto her bangle as well.

Wow, fir a materia hunter, Yuffie is surprisingly low on it.

"It's not much." Cloud said as he handed her his death blow materia.

Aw, even Cloud cares about Yuffie.

"Awesome guys! This is so great!" Yuffie said as she placed the materia on to her bangle.

"Don't mess up kid." Barret said as he handed her some potions.

"I know you'll win." Tifa handed her some eithers.

"Use it wisely." Nanaki gave her a poison materia.

"Make sure to save your strength for the last guy." Cait said as he handed her a star pendent.

"Hm." Vincent nodded his head at her. That seemed legit enough for Yuffie considering the fact that he's barely spoken to anyone. She then looked over to Cid.

"What? I aint got nothin 'sept this here spear, some smokes and the clothes on my back." Cid then lit a cigarette. "Since you insist on bein' the only one to represent this group, you better kick major ass. If you look bad you make me look bad an' I hate lookin bad. Specially when it's somethin I'm good at." Cid said as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette. "You understand?" Cid blew the smoke out with his words.

"Just shut up ya grumpy old man." Yuffie said with a grin. She began to walk away when Tifa grabbed her by the wrist.

"We're walking with you to there." Tifa said with a smile. Yuffie nodded her head and lead the way.

Huh, I never thought that the group would be this accepting of her right now. Well, to be fair she didn't take all out materia and run off.

When we reached the huge tower Yuffie took a deep breath and pointed at it.

"I, the great master ninja Yuffie, hear by declare war on this tower!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She took another breath "I will not stop until I have achieved victory!" She shouted.

"Give them a good whats for and a howdy do." I said to Yuffie as I narrowed my eyes.

"Yeah, any part of you that thought you was a bad ass, yeah, it's gone now. Went straight down the shitter." Cid said.

What? I'm not aloud to have a few cheesy line every now and then?

"We'll be expecting our materia back." Cloud said.

"What! Aw come on! Can't I just keep it?" Yuffie protested.

"Yeah, we kinda need it to." I said. Yuffie folded her arms and pouted.

"Fine! But I expect a huge party for when I get back!" Yuffie shouted before she took of into the tower. The group went silent.

"So uh... What do we do now?" I said.

"We wait here for Yuffie." Aeris said as she took a seat on the steps.

And so we waited. We saw Reno and Rude run by in the distance but no one really cared to ask what they were doing. I'm not gonna lie though, I was a bit nervous as to what would happen with them and Don. Since we were not there to help them they might lose. On the other hand, they're friggin Turks! They now how to handle this crap like a boss!

It wasn't long before we saw the Turks return with Elena. They didn't really seem to notice us, which is weird considering the fact that we stick out like a sore thumb with a really bad infection. I had no idea where they were going.

"So your saying that they live in a world without materia, instead they use wands? Two sevens." Tifa said as she tossed two cards into the pile.

"Yup." I examined my cards. My hand was shortly coming up and I wasn't going to have what I needed. While we sat on the steps waiting for Yuffie, Cid pulled out a deck of cards. We decided to play BS.

Man, I suck at this game.

"Is there mako? One eight." Barret said as he tossed a card in.

"Nope, just and magic." I replied.

"Sounds like fun! I wouldn't mind being a which. Three nines." Aeris said happily as she tossed in three cards.

"Yeah well what kinda shit ass name is Hogwarts? I mean, who thinks of that stuff? Did someone just wake up one mornin' an' go, 'Hey, what should we name the school?' 'Duh I dunno? How does Hogwarts sound?' 'Sounds like the best name ever!' Two tens." Said said after he did his best impersonation of two idiots. To be honest, it was quite good.

Okay man, poker face. I may have half the cards in my hand but I don't have what comes after ten. Mouth, don't fail me now.

"Two elevens." I said as I tossed in a three and a five. Everyone stopped and stared at me. Even Vincent was staring at me and he wasn't even playing.

"What?" I asked.

Oh crap! Did they see through my lie!

"Bullshit!" Both Cid and Barret said loudly. I sighed and picked up the pile of cards.

"How'd you guys know?" I asked with a very confused face. Everyone just looked at one another before Cid spoke.

"Because Dumbass, there aint no elevens in a deck a cards. It goes up to ten then the jacks." Cid said as he shook his head.

Dammit mouth! You backstabbing bastard! I trusted you to get me through this game and you betrayed me! We had an agreement! You do all the thinking for me while I sacrifice the blood of the innocent for you!

Cloud threw his cards down and sighed.

"I never should have let her go into the building." Cloud said.

"Worried about her?" Aeris asked.

"No, we're wasting time here. We should be looking for The Temple of the Ancients. Not waiting for Yuffie to prove herself to her village." Cloud said, slight irritation in his voice. AS of on cue the doors to the tower busted open and Yuffie stormed out of it, huge smile on her face.

"I did it! I did it! I beat my old man!" Yuffie shouted as she jumped for joy. She then missed a step and fell backwards down them.

"Whoa!" She shouted as she fell. She ended up falling and landing right no top of Cloud. Cloud then fell forward and land with his face hitting the ground. I laughed along with Barret and Cid.

"Are you guys okay?" Aeris asked as she stood up and quickly strode over to the two fallen people.

"Owwwww!" Yuffie exclaimed loudly.

"Yuffie. Get. Off. Of. Me" Cloud said, face still on the ground. Yuffie tried to get off of Cloud. She only succeeded in smashing his face into the ground, which was tiled cement.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" Yuffie said as she finally decided to just roll off of Cloud. It took a few seconds but Cloud stood up as well. He had a bloody nose from being pressed into the ground. Cloud wiped his nose of the blood.

"Did you say you beat you old man?" Nanaki asked. Yuffie, completely ignoring what just happened now, answered excitedly.

"Yeah! It turns out that my old man the last one I had to fight! I kicked his ass into next week!" Yuffie shouted as she kicked the air.

"That's great Yuffie, now give us back our materia." Cloud said as he held out his hand.

"What! Aw come one! Can't I just keep it a little longer? Like, until I die?" Yuffie pleaded. Cloud just held out his hand in silence. Yuffie just pouted as she handed him his materia.

"And everyone else, give it back to them." Cloud said.

I don't think he liked having his face smashed into the ground. It's just a hunch though, I could be wrong.

After much protesting Yuffie finally gave everyone back their materia.

"Okay, we're heading out now. We've wasted to much time." Cloud said as he looked at the group.

Aw come on! I've barely had a chance to look around the place!

"Cloud, I think it might be a good idea if we stayed here for the night." Tifa said as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry Tifa, but we have too little time as is. The sooner we start moving the better." Cloud said. Tifa removed her hand, looking a little saddened.

"Spikey, we aint got no mako enhancements like you do. We can't be runnin' round all over the place all the time. We need a break." Barret protested.

"You can take a break on the plane. We should make it there by midnight. Let's move." Cloud said as he began to walk away from the group. I let out a sigh and started walking.

Well, at least I'll be able to stay at the Ghost Hotel. Maybe I can get back at Cloud be recording his reaction to Aeris taking him out on the date with my phone and show it to everyone. Well, maybe not Tifa, that might make her feel even worse. I know Barret will have a good laugh about it.

The rest of the group followed followed Cloud out of Wutai and back to the Tiny Bronco.

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><p><em>AN: Alright everyone! In the next chapter things start to heat up! That's when my plot should start to unfold. I'm really excited about getting it up! What's going to happen you may ask? Well you're just going to have to wait. See you in the Gold Saucer!_


	21. Chapter 21: Unforeseen Consequences

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I would not be allowed to use these limit breaks for Boto.**_

_A/N: Sorry this one is late, I've been a bit busy. Anyway, here it is, chapter twenty one! I've been looking forward to this. I hope you guys have been to! Also, you haven't read it already, I highly suggest reading "The Stranger from the Sky" by acebrainbuster. It's currently at a really epic moment in the story. Trust me, it's awesome! Also, thank you Medicat15 for the compliment! And remember everyone, please review!_

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><p>Chapter Twenty One: Unforeseen Consequence<p>

"I can barely see a thing." I said out loud. It had been a day or so since we left Wutai. We've been travailing around on the Tiny Bronco aimlessly. It's really hard to try and have Cloud or Cid to go in the direction you want them to since both of them are actually pretty stubborn.

"No, I think this way is better." Cloud would say.

"Sit your ass back down an' stop tellin' me where to go!" Cid would yell.

In the end, I just let them do what ever they wanted to. It was night fall when Cloud finally started heading in the direction to learn where the keystone is.

It was a moonless night so we couldn't see to to well and incredibly foggy to boot. I thought that the mako enhancements Cloud had would well, you know, enhance his sight. But unfortunately...

"It only enhances my strength and stamina." Cloud said bluntly when I tried to ask him about it.

I had no idea if Nanaki could see through the fog and the dark. Same went for Vincent. No matter how many fanfictions I've read it was still hard to tell how this guy really was.

"Man, I swear, if I see friggin Slender Man here I'm jumping into the water." I said as I looked around the fog. I shivered a little.

Man, I don't care what you say, that guy still gives me the creeps.

"Slender Man? Sounds like some kind of anorexic super hero." Yuffie said weakly from the side of the plane.

"Yeah well you just wait, you wake up one night and find a strange freakishly tall white guy wearing black a suit staring at you from the window. Or in this case seeing him randomly in the fog." I said as I shivered.

Well crap, so much for sleeping tonight.

"Almost sounds like Darkness over there." Cid chuckled as he pointed to Vincent,

I kept an eye out for any indication of the shop that we were supposed to stop at. It was incredibly difficult to see. Right when I was about to give up I saw a light illuminating off in the distance.

"Hey! What's that?" I shouted as I stood up and pointed to the light. Cloud slowed the plane down to a halt until it sat idly while the engine hummed.

"I don't know." Cloud said as he leaned out from the cockpit to get a better look.

"I say we check it out. Better then sittin' on this boat all day." Barret said.

"I agree, we might actually, ya know, find something out." I said. Cloud nodded his head. Even he seemed annoyed by the lack of information we have and was willing to try anything... Either that or that's just how he always looked. Either way he was pulling up to the shore.

All of us quickly stepped of the plane and made our way towards the light. It quickly came into view as being a house, or in this case, a store. Cloud just walked into the store without knocking,

You know he's lucky no one seems to carry weapons with them. Other wise they might just attack one of these days.

"Huh? Oh, another customer. You sure picked an out of the way place..." The shop keeper said. Cloud just shrugged.

"But if it's the 'Keystone' your looking for you're too late. Don't have it." The shop keeper said.

"Keystone?" Cloud asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"What? You didn't come here for that?" The shop keeper asked in a surprised tone.

Well, I did. I don't know about the rest of these people.

"The 'Keystone is the key that unlocks the gate to a very old temple somewhere. You're not going to believe your ears but I heard that it was to the Temple of the Ancients!" The shop keeper exclaimed. Cloud and almost everyone had a surprised look on their face.

"The Temple of the Ancients..." Cloud trailed off into thought.

"Kya ha ha ha! Don't take it seriously, it's just a legend." The shop keeper laughed.

"We've taken dumber stuff seriously before!" I answered back. The shop keeper just laughed even harder.

"Where can we find the keystone?" Cloud suddenly asked.

"I sold it already. Yeah well, to tell the truth, I really didn't want to sell it but... That guy had a way about him that made you fell it may not be a good idea not to sell it to him." The shop keeper said.

"How did you sell it to?" Cloud asked, starting to sound a little impatient. The shop keeper stopped to think for a bit. He then snapped his fingers.

"The manager of The Gold Saucer I think his name was Dio. He said he was going to put it in his museum. Then he took of out of here." The shop keeper said. Every one let out a groan or sigh. We were going to have to travel all the way back to the Gold Saucer now. I had been expecting it but that didn't mean that it was still going to be pain to travel. Especially in this friggin fog.

"Let's go." Cloud said quickly as he practically bolted out the door. The rest of us followed. Cloud had stopped a few yards away from the door when we left the shop.

"Cloud...?" Tifa trailed off.

"We're going after the keystone." Cloud said bluntly as he stared off into the fog.

"But we don't even know if it's actually for the Temple of the Ancients." Nanaki said.

"It's better then nothing." Cloud stated.

"I think I recognize this path. If we cross the river it should just be a straight shot to Coral." I said as I tried to find the river. Cloud nodded his head and we began to move.

It didn't take us long to get across the river. What took us was the fact that we had to travel by foot to get to Coral. It took us all night and a good chunk of the day to finally get there. Ont he bright side, the fog cleared up.

When we passed through coral the people just gave us dirty looks. A couple of them even flipped us off. Yuffie returned the favor. All of us made our way onto the gondola and waited for it to take off.

"Wait, how are we going to get in when we're low on gil?" Yuffie asked when the gondola was half way there.

"I don't know. Boto was able to get in when he had no gil." Cloud said. Everyone looked over at me.

"How did you get in?" Tifa asked.

"Got a lifetime pass for free." I said casually.

"How'd you get that?" Aeris asked.

"Well you see I... OH CRAP!" I shouted out in panic. Instantly jolting away from the wall I was leaning against.

Oh crap! I completely forgot about the ticket lady! In order to get the passes for everyone else I made an agreement with her! Crap, what were the conditions again! Okay, let's see, I have to get her tickets to see Advent Children, get her an i-phone and... Oh crap. Have her go on a date with Cloud and Vincent... Yup, someone shoot me now because I'm a dead man walking.

"What is it?" Aeris asked in a concerned tone.

"Okay, uh, I'm gonna need you guys to do me a solid and, uh, just stay on the gondola for a bit while Cait Sith and I go and, uh, do a... few … uh... things..." I trailed off nervously. Everyone was looking at me with weird expressions on their faces.

"Why me?" Cait Sith asked.

"Why do you want us to stay on here?" Nanaki asked.

"Because... Just do it." I said quickly. Everyone continued to stare at me until the gondola came to a stop. I quickly went over to the open door. Before leaving I turned around and pointed at no in in particular.

"Stay." I said, like I used to say to my dog. Cait Sith quickly followed me out. Bot of us walked about half way when we slowed are walk down.

"So, what's this about." Cait asked as he folded his arms. I rubbed the back of my head nervously,

"Well, you see the ticket lady over there right?" I said as I pointed to the woman standing in front of the giant fake chocobo chick.

"Crystal? Yeah I know her. What about her?" Cait asked.

"Well, you see, the thing is, in order for me to get in last time I promised her a few things that I really couldn't keep so I can get in." I said.

"What'd you promise?" Cait asked.

"Er, well, I promised her tickets to a movie which doesn't exist, a version of the PHS I have and... AdatewithCloudandVincent." I said the last part as fast as I could. Cait Sith just stared at me before busting up laughing.

"Oh lad, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Cait exclaimed.

"You're back!" Crystal shouted with excitement at both of us.

Aw crap.

"Hiya Crystal!" Cait said in an excited tone. Crystal was beaming with excitement.

"So, I've been thinking about it!" Crystal exclaimed, completely ignoring Cait Sith. "And I decided I don't really care about the PHS or movie!" She said excitedly.

Oh good, that takes care of two problems. Now if only she said she doesn't care about the date.

"I just want to go on the date!" She practically shouted.

Son of a-

"Well that's fantastic! It just so happens that everyone's with me right now! They're just hanging

out in the gondola1" I said as I tried to sound cheerful.

"Really! Ohmygosh! I can't wait!" She squeed.

"Yeah well we're really going to need those tickets to get in right now to. The only problem is we're on a bit of a tight schedule. You see we need to go see Dio about something and then we have to leave." I said as I rubbed the back of my head nervously. Crystal's face suddenly turned to a one of depression.

"Oh, well, it'll still work out!" She said with a look of evil in her eyes. "You go ahead and get them." She said mischievously. Both Cait Sith and I gave her a worried look..

"Well, I'll do that." I said as both Cait Sith and I backed away. We began to walk back to the gondola.

"That look on her face is never a good thing." Cait said. I just took a deep breath before entering into the gondola.

"Hey everyone!" I said cheerfully.

"What happened?" Cloud asked in a serious voice.

"Pshaw, nothing happened. You're always accusing me of causing something to happen." I said as I waved my hands at them. Cloud just arched his eyebrow at me.

"Well, he did manage to get us free tickets." Cait chipped in.

"Really? How?" Aeris asked.

"Heh heh, well you'll find out. For now let's just get that keystone." I said nervously.

"I do not like this." Vincent stated.

"Well you can go fly a kite!" I shouted as I pointed at Vincent. He just gave me a weird look.

"Well, no sense in just wasting time. Let's mosey." Cloud said as he headed for the door.

Yet another phrase that hurts my ears.

All of us headed towards Crystal. Her face practically glowed with excitement. Cloud was the first on to receive his ticket.

"Here you go. Enjoy your stay. I'll see you later." Crystal said with a wink.

"What?" Cloud asked with a confused face. Crystal just giggled. She then handed Aeris her ticket. She didn't say anything to her. Barret was next, then Yuffie. Next was Tifa. Crystal shoved the ticket into her.

"Hey!" Tifa said, taken back a bit by the sudden assault.

"Oops, sorry." Crystal said with a fake smile. Tifa just gave her a confused look as she passed by. "I bet those are fake." Crystal muttered as Tifa walked past her.

"What?" Tifa asked.

"I said enjoy your stay." Crystal said in a very false peppy tone. Tifa walked on. She then handed Cid and Nanaki their tickets. Then Vincent.

"Can't wait for tonight." She said as she winked at Vincent. He ignored her and walked on.

Well crap, she has something planned. Does she know that the gondola is going to break down?

"Boto, come on. Let's go." Cait said as he made his way to the entrance.

"Wait, don't you need your ticket?" I asked. Cait held up his hand, a ticket was in it already.

"I used to work here." Cait said. He then turned around and entered the theme park.

Huh, go figure.

I started to walk forward when Crystal gabbed my arm.

"Don't worry about leaving early, I think something will happen." She said while grinning.

"Ha ha, what? Is the gondola going to break down or something?" I laughed nervously.

"Oh, you'll see." She laughed. Both of us just stood there laughing. Mine was nervous laughter, I think hers was some what evil.

"Well... I better catch up with everyone else now... See ya!" I said quickly as I took off into the park.

Huh, so she's the reason why the gondola breaks.

The rest of the group was waiting for me when I finally went it.

"That ticket lady was... Ruder then I remember." Tifa said.

"She seemed nice to me." Nanaki said.

"Okay, we need to focus on finding out where Dio would be. Anyone have nay leads?" Cloud asked.

"I think his office is somewhere located in the Battle Square." Cait said as he pointed to the tube that led to it.

"Right, let's go." Cloud said. Everyone followed him. We traveled through the tube and into the entrance to the battle square. We then took a left and headed straight for Dio's Show Room.

"It's The Keystone..." Cloud trailed off.

"Heh heh heh. Long time no see, my boy. You like that huh?" Dio said. I didn't even notice him walk up to us.

"Can you let me borrow this?" Cloud asked.

Come on Cloud, we all know that you have no intention of giving this back.

"Heh heh heh, sorry but it's not for rent. You want this you have to do a couple of favors for me." Dio said with a very smug grin.

Wait, he isn't supposed to say this. What's going on?

"Name it." Cloud said.

"Well, you see, I first need to find a tall, Wutainese looking guy." Dio said as he searched the crowd until his eyes landed on me.

Oh crap, what's this about.

"Ah, you, boy, come here." He said as he pointed his finger at me. I slowly stepped forward.

"Yes?" I ask hesitantly.

"My daughter tells me that you made a deal with her." He said with a grin.

Daughter? I didn't know this guy had a daughter.

"Daughter?" I ask in a confused tone.

"You remember the ticket lady Crystal? She's my sweet little angel." Dio said.

Oh crap! This isn't good! He's putting me on the spot... Yup, mind freezing, words will be jumbled up very shortly.

"Ju-der... Bufa... Huh?" I stutter

Yup, and there goes my ability to speak.

"Heh heh, well anyway, she just called me up and said that you made a deal with her. Said that a couple of fellows named Cloud and Vincent would go on a date with her for free life time passes." Dio said.

I am so screwed right now. A screw would look and me and go 'Damn!'.

"What!" Cloud shouted as he looked at me in shock. Vincent was now glaring daggers into me.

"Ha ha ha! Are you serious! That right there's the funniest shit I've heard all day!" Cid said as he busted up laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny." Dio said to me.

But I didn't laugh!

"Now, considering this boys response and they guy waring the red cloak, I'll take it you never told them about it." Dio said.

That's right, just keep loading the bullets into the chamber.

"We didn't" Cloud said, anger in his voice.

"You're sneakier then I am!" Yuffie laughed.

"Well, considering that, I'm going to give you an option here. You either go through with this whole date thing and have your two friends kill you or, you can try and entertain me in the battle square." Dio said with a grin. I looked at Cloud and Vincent. Both of them were just glaring at me, as though they were saying, 'Go with the Battle Square or else'. I looked over at Dio.

"Let's start the battle." I said.

I stood in the center of the battle arena.

"Damn." I muttered under my breath. Punisher was currently my only weapon. Apparently Dio wasn't going to let me off the hook that easy. He knew that we needed the Keystone so he made a list of rules for me to follow in order to obtain it.

His rules for me in the battle square are different from the normal ones. For starters, I'm limited to one weapon only, weapons also included materia. I was also not allowed to have any items. This fight was going to have to be fought by brute strength and brute strength only. To top it all off, I had to survive all eight rounds.

The crowed was already going crazy, wanting to see some action. Unfortunately, they wanted to watch me get the crap beat out of me.

"We have a special treat for you tonight!" Dio's voice boomed through out the entire room. "This young boy is going to be fighting with only his one weapon. No materia and no items! Isn't he a trooper." Dio said. The crowed cheered.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just get this over with." I muttered. I pulled out Punisher, getting ready for a fight.

"Round one!" Dio shouted. The door in front of me opened and a group of bats flew in. They were fast. I dove out of the way as they flew right at me. Some of them hit me. Fortunately they only gave me a few scratches. I rolled on the ground and Pointed Punisher at the group. I opened fire. All of them fell quickly.

"Booo!" The crowed hissed.

Well, this sucks. I have the crowed against me. At least I know AVALANCHE is on my side.

"Boo! You suck!" Thanks Cid, I really needed that.

"Hm, looks like that was a little too easy. Time for a handy cap!" Dio shouted. I suddenly felt drained of my energy. I almost fell to the ground.

"That should even the odds!" Dio shouted.

Crap! This guy wants to kill me!

The doors opened up again. These two dinosaur looking things walked in. They were a mixture of blue and green with very huge teeth. Both of them circled me, one to the left of me and one to the right of me.

"Come on Boto! You can do it!" I heard Aeris shout from some where in the crowd. One of the beasts dove at me. I barely dodged him. The second one was right on my tail. It ended up head butting me. The crowd cheered at that.

"Crap!" I shouted as I hit the ground. I scrambled to my feet and shot at the thing. It feel to the ground. I turned to face the second one. It was about to cast stone stare at me. I ran up close to it and smacked it in the face with Punisher. I then shot it a couple of times.

What, I'm trying to save ammo.

The crowed booed at me even more.

"That was a little too easy. Let's make it harder!" Dio shouted. I suddenly felt Punisher lock up on me.

"Dammit! My gun's locked! How does he even do that!" I shouted as I threw it on the ground. Fortunately for me, Dio didn't know about the extra pistols and the rocket launcher.

I opened the side of Punisher up and pulled out all four pistols. I put two of them into my pockets while I held on to the other two.

"Looks like he was hiding some weapons!" Dio shouted. The crowd booed at me.

"Fight like a man ya pansy!"

"Barret! Shut the Hell up!" I shouted. I picked Punisher back up and strapped it to my back.

The doors opened up again. The next thing to walk out was an incredibly buff green monster with horns and claws all over its body. It didn't waste time on attacking. It slammed it fist into the ground. At first I stood still, only to feel the ground rise below me and knock me into the air. I landed on my back.

I barely had time to move out of the way. It jumped up into the airs and tried to slam its fist into me. I rolled on my side to the left. When it landed on the ground I shot both of the pistols I was holding at it. I ended up unloading both of my clips into it. The monster feel to the ground with a loud thud.

Some of the audience started to applaud me.

"What a show so far! But it's far from over! How's about we turn him into a frog!" Dio boomed over the speakers. The crowd cheered.

"Crap!" I shouted. Suddenly a white cloud of smoke appeared around me. I couldn't see a thing. I started coughing like crazy. When it finally cleared everything seemed bigger to me. I looked at my hands and saw that they were frog hands. I examined my body, I was a frog.

"Next round!" Dio shouted. The door opened up and a very bulky robot walked out of it. It quickly started to hover above the ground before it charged at me. I hopped out of the way before its fist came crashing down. It's back opened up and fired a couple of miniature rockets at me. I was able to dodged them with no problem, until they swerved around and came flying at me again.

Crap! These things are locked onto me! Got to think of something fast!

I hopped around the arena, trying to avoid the rockets when an idea suddenly struck me. I quickly hopped onto the robot and waited for the rockets to get close. I jumped down the back side of the robot and the rockets slammed right into the robot. The robot was then blow to pieces. The crowd actually began to cheer for me.

"Go Boto!" I heard Yuffie shout from the crowd.

"Have we pushed him past his limits? I don't think so! Let's poison him." Dio said that last part so casually.

Aw crap! This just keeps getting better and better.

A green ooze suddenly surrounded me. I began to feel incredibly sick. I could barley focus on anything. I didn't even notice when the next round started. I was up against two of these penguin things and other frog. If I had the energy to, I would have done a fist pump. I just had to let the frog hit me and I would be back to normal.

Unfortunately, the penguins attacked first. Both of them dove at me at the same time. I got as low to the ground as possible and let them fly over me. Suddenly I was kicked in the face. I flew back into a cloud of smoke and landed on my back. When I stood up everything was back to normal size. I was a human again. I quickly turned around and fired two shots at the penguins. I then kicked the frog as hard as I could. It smashed into the wall.

The crowd was roaring with applause now.

"Only three rounds left! Let's see what else he can take!" Dio shouted. I suddenly felt like I was carrying a thousand pound bag. It was hard to lift my legs and arms.

Crap, I'm practically drained of my energy, I feel like crap, I'm low on ammo and to top it all off I can barely move.

The doors opened up and two robots that road on a huge wheel zoomed in. Once again, they were circling me. They would charge in at me one at a time and ram into me. I would be knocked from side to side. My body was in a lot of pain right now. If this kept up I was going to lose the battle.

When one was charging in for another attack I quickly grabbed onto it. It didn't know what to do except to just try and find it's target. The other robot started charging after the one I was holding onto. It was coming straight at me. Right before they collided I forced my self of. Both of them hit each other and exploded.

"Wow! What incredible skill! Let's see what else he can take!" Dio said.

Bring it.

Suddenly everything around me seemed to speed up. The door opened up quickly and a huge praying mantis seemed to sprint out of it. I was feeling a surge of energy go through my body. I lifted my pistols up to try and shoot it but it ended up slashing me across the chest. I was knocked onto my back.

The praying mantis stood above me now. It was about to swing at me again. I lifted my arms and pulled the triggers rapidly on my pistols. Two red robs appeared at the end of each pistol and I fired them at the praying mantis. The attack sent the huge bug flying backwards.

I friggin hate bugs!

The crowd was going wild now. I could almost hear a chant going on. It sounded like they were saying 'Boto' over and over again.

"This is it! The final round! To top it all off, we're going to make sure he can't use those pistols of his!" Dio said.

Heh, jokes on you! I'm all out of ammo for these!

I slowly stood up and picked up Punisher. My everything was screaming in pain right now. The door opened up to reveal a huge blue bird. It quickly swooped in and picked me up.

"Uahhhhh!" I screamed by the sudden move. It tossed me up into the air. I actually flew pretty high. The bird then charged at me.

Come on! On you only have one shot!

I used what energy I had left to flip Punisher around and point it at my enemy. I pulled the trigger and sent a rocket flying at it. The bird tried to swerve out of the way but ended up making a head on collision with it. Both of us were in a free fall now.

The bird hit the ground first. It landed on its back. I landed on it stomach. The whole room went silent. My body hurt and I didn't feel like getting up.

Okay, I think you did it Boto, just lift your self up.

I lifted Punisher into the air with one hand. The whole crowd cheered.

"He did it! He survived all eight rounds!" Dio's voice echoed through out the arena. I suddenly felt my energy slowly returning to me. I stood up and lifted Punisher even higher. The crowd cheered even louder. I grinned.

Finally! It's over!

I started making my way to the exit when a huge crowd of people swarmed in.. All of them wanting to give me a pat on the back or congregate me.

"Hey there handsome, why don't you come back to my place for special victory party." A very busty woman with bleach blond hair said. She wore a red dress that left very little for the imagination. She then pulled out a can of whipped cream.

"If you know what I mean." She said very seductively with a wink and a giggle.

"Whipped cream! That's friggin awesome!" I shouted as I swiped it out of her hands. I bit off the lid to it and spat it out.

"I don't know why you're carrying this around but thanks!" I shouted as I shoved the tip of the can into my mouth and filled it up with the whipped cream. The can made a very loud 'Kshhhhhh' noise as I pressed the tip down.

Oh yeah, that hits the spot. Haven in a can.

I took a quick glance at her as I walked away, she had a mortified look on her face.

What's her problem? If she didn't want to lose her whipped cream then she shouldn't have brought with her.

I slowly made my way to the rest of the group.

"You kicked ass out there!" Yuffie shouted when I finally found everyone.

"That was amazing! I was almost certain that you were a goner!" Tifa said. Aeris quickly rushed over to me and gave me a hug.

"Don't worry, I had my cure materia on stand by just in case." Aeris said as she began to use her cure materia on my

"Yeah, I admit, you did pretty good. For a dumbass." Barret said. Tifa smacked him in the back of the head.

"Quit calling him that!" Tifa shouted.

"Ow! It's not my fault! If he didn't try an' make that deal, he wouldn't o' been in this mess!" Barret said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Where did you get that can of whipped cream?" Nanaki asked.

"Some chick dressed in red gave it to me." I said as I shook the can.

"Regardless of that, we need to go collect our prize. Let's go." Cloud said. Everyone nodded their head on followed.

When we made it to Dio's Show Room he was already waiting for us.

"You put up one heck of a fight kid. As promised, here's the key stone." Dio said as he tossed it to me. I missed the key stone. It ended up hitting me in the head. I tried to catch it again before it hit the ground. I fumbled both the keystone and the can of whipped cream, not wanting to drop either. I finally managed to hold the keystone in my right hand the the can in my left.

"Heh heh heh, you're just full of surprises." Dio said. As he began to leave I quickly stopped him.

"Yo Dio! On my way here I heard that the gondola to Coral was busted. Is it true?" I asked. Dio turned around.

"Yeah, it's true. Broke down while you were fighting." He said before leaving.

"Damn." Cloud swore under his breath. "Now what do we do." He said.

"Oh, I know! I Know a few people over at the Ghost Hotel that can get us some rooms! Come on! This way!" Cait Sith said very energetically as he led the group out of the room.

I was laying down on one of the beds. Cloud's meeting with everyone down stairs was short so I was able to head up to one of the rooms. I was currently sharing it with Cait Sith, Barret and Nanaki. Barret was sound asleep on the other bed. He was snoring rather loudly to.

I was just staring at the sealing when I heard a knock on the door. It didn't sound like the door to this room but I licked out of bed to go check it out any way. I opened the door to the hallway to find no one there.

Huh, I wonder who that was... Wait a second! I know who that was!

I quickly pulled out my phone and set it to video mode. I waited for Cloud and Aeris to come out of the room. I waited silently in the shadows of the hallway. As soon as they appeared I started recording.

"Come on Cloud! It'll be fun!" Aeris said as she shoved him out of the room.

"Bu-But!" Cloud stuttered, his face completely red.

"Oh don't be such a child. Consider this my payment for you being my body guard." Aeris said cheerfully as she shoved him down the hall. They quickly went out of sight.

"But...But..." Was the only thing you could here Cloud say. I waited until you couldn't hear him anymore to stop recording.

"Gold, pure gold. Now if only they had the internet." I said silently to my self. I was about to return to my room when my phone started to ring. I answered it.

"Talk to me." I said.

"Boto, it's Reeve." Reeve said.

"Word up home dog?" I asked.

"I- What?... Oh never mind. I have an up date for you." Reeve said.

"Awesome! What is it?" I asked.

"Well, Rufus has agreed to not try and take the girl, Marlene, as a hostage. I did end up telling him about the keystone and that AVALANCHE would be in possession of it." Reeve said.

"Okay, that's good. What else?" I asked.

"Well, the Turks are heading towards your location. They should be arriving there shortly to retrieve the keystone. They are currently waiting for Cait Sith in front of the Chocobo Racing area." Reeve said.

"Okay, so far nothing out of the ordinary, only that they seem to be coming a little bit early." I said.

"Boto, I also informed them just recently that you are the current holder of the keystone. They'll be coming after you." Reeve said, sounding very concerned.

"Crap, what do we do?" I asked.

"Well, the current plan is for you to meet up with Cait Sith before they arrive. You're going to give him the keystone then Cait Sith will give the keystone to Tseng." Reeve said.

"What! We can't just give him the keystone! Everything we did would have just been for nothing!" I said.

"Look, Tseng is a dangerous man. I'm not risking anyone getting hurt. Besides, you your self said that he survives the encounter with Sephiroth." Tseng said. I said nothing in return.

"Good. Go meet up with Cait Sith." Tseng said before he hung up.

"Damn it." I said as I began to make my way to the Chocobo Racing area. When I reached the area I saw Cait Sith standing on the steps outside. I walked over to him.

"Good, you're here. Quick, hand me the keystone." Cait said. I, repeatably, handed him the keystone. Cait smiled and nodded at me.

"Now go, I can't afford to have you seen with me." Cait said as he shooed me away. I heard the sound of a helicopter not to far from here so I quickly hid in one of the tunnels leading to another part of the park. I watched as the helicopter approached Cait Sith. The surprising thing was that Tseng actually left the helicopter. With him were Rude and Reno. I saw Cait hand the keystone to Tseng.

The next part is kind of a blur to me. I don't remember how it happened but I think I know why. I didn't want to be useless and not change anything. The next thing I know, I was standing before the Turks.

"You're not taking." I said bluntly. Cait Sith had a look of horror on his face when I showed up.

"Well well well, if it isn't Boto himself." Reno said.

"The Hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked. Reno just shrugged.

"Ya know, I don't really know yo." Reno said.

"Reno. Rude, make sure he won't tell the rest of his group about this." Tseng said as he began to walk away.

"You got it chief" Both of them said as they began to walk towards me.

"We'll pick you up in ten minuets." Tseng said as the helicopter came closer to him.

Crap! He has the keystone! I can't just let him get away with it! Come on, think of something! Anything to try and stop him.

"You let him die!" I shouted. Tseng stopped and turned around to face me.

"What?" Tseng asked in a confused tone.

"Zack Fair, you let him die! When you sent these two guys to look for him." I said as I pointed at Reno and Rude. "You didn't care for him at all did you!" I shouted. Tseng began to step towards me.

"Why you little-" Reno began as he was about to charge at me. Tseng stopped him.

"No, this is... Amusing. Let's hear what he has to say." Tseng said.

"Sir?" Rude asked. Tseng said nothing. So I continued.

"You know if you tried harder you cloud have saved him. I bet you just wanted Aeris all for your self! That's why you let him die! You're no better then Don Corneo, no you know what? You're worse. At least Don's willing to admit what he is!" I shouted accusingly at Tseng. Reno and Rude seemed to be the maddest. Tseng had his head hanging down.

"Boto! What are you doing!" Cait said.

If I remember correctly, he regrets not being able to save Zack so this should be interesting.

"Never speak to the chief like that." Rude said coldly.

"I don't know how you have classified information but let's get one thing straight. The chief is a better man then you'll ever be. And I'm about to beat that into your head." Reno said, hate in his voice. He readied his EMR. He was about to charge at me again when Tseng grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Reno." Tseng said, his head still hanging down.

"B-But chief! We can't let him get away with saying stuff like that!" Reno protested.

"I know. Which is why I'm going to handle this." Tseng said as he stepped forward. He put on a pair of black gloves.

"You sure chief?" Rude asked. Tseng nodded his head.

"Pick me up here in five minuets." Tseng said. Reno and Rude nodded their heads and quickly boarded the helicopter. The helicopter then took off.

Tseng is a very calm man. Even now, he looks calm. The way he walked towards me, his facial expression, everything. The only thing that was out of place on him were his eyes. They were seething with rage.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Zack and Aeris up.

Before I knew it, it was right in front of me. He gave me an upper cut to the jaw and sent ,e flying over the edge. I fell for a shot amount of time before I landed on my back. When I landed the every thing around me shook. My eyes were closed from the pain.

Ow, ow, ow. Crap! I thought Tseng only used a gun!

I opened my eyes to find the Tseng was coming straight at me, seconds away from hitting my face. I rolled to the left and barely avoided his fist. I quickly pulled my self up and took on my surroundings for a second. There was a giant purple hoof in front of me that was connected to a yellow hook, then a purple one. All of it was connected to a black railing. It looks like I just barley missed it. I was standing on a wooden platform that was pretty small. I was on top of one of the gondolas. It was slowly moving through out the park. I had no idea if anyone in the gondola or not.

Tseng stood in front of me, silent but ready to fight. He put his fists up.

"Alright then, let's dance." I said with a grin. I put my fists up as well. Once again, I had no weapons or items on me to back me up. I should have prepared more.

Tseng made the first attack. He quickly swung a left hook at me. I ducked and punched him in the stomach. It didn't affect him. He kneed me in the face. I fell backwards and almost fell over the edge. I quickly stood back up and tried again.

I tried to fake a left hook and punch him with my right. He saw through that and quickly grabbed both of my wrists and headbutted me. I moved fast and did used him as leverage to do a high kick. I hit him right in the chin. He let me go and took a couple of steps back. He recovered quickly.

I felt a surge of energy go through my body. I could use another limit break.

Suddenly a red mist formed around Tseng's hands. It looked like blood.

"This" Tseng began "This is a very unique attack. Veld taught it to me him self." He lifted up his right hand. "This red mist allows me to move quickly and cause major damage to the bones and organs of my opponent with just one hit. Veld called it 'Bloody Hands.' " Tseng said as he examined his hands.

"You know, I'm not one for telling my opponents my attacks. It just gives it all away and let's them know what I'm about to do." I said as I lifted my fists up. I focused on my limit break. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them everything around me had slowed down. I could see the pressure points on Tseng.

I moved into attack him. I tried to strike his first to pressure points. Tseng was moving just as fast as I was. He blocked both of my attacks. He tried to strike me next. I deflected his hands but felt a sharp pain go through mine. It felt like my hands were just stabbed with a huge shard of glass. I stepped back from him

Okay, If I'm going to beat him I have to avoid his hands.

Tseng stepped in for the attack now. He tried to hit me in the chest, I deflected it by blocking his wrists. This pattern went on for a while. I would attack and he would deflect. He would attack and I would deflect. Eventually both of our attacks wore off and it turned into a straight slug fest. He would punch me in the face and I would punch him in the stomach. The blows were just non stop.

Eventually he got the better of me. He grabbed my wrist and threw me against the purple hook. He picked me up by my shirts collar. If I needed to do something fast.

Suddenly I felt another surge of energy, images started flashing into my head. They were of fire, hands, and and X. They only lasted a second. I grinned.

"What are you grinning about?" Tseng asked.

"Remember how I said I don't like to tell people my attacks?" I said. Tseng just arched his left eyebrow. "I lied." I said as I lifted my right palm to his face. Tseng's eyes grew wide.

"X-Burner!" I shouted. A huge flame burst from my hand and directly at Tseng. I felt his hands let go of my collar as the force of the flame knocked me back and pressed me against the purple hook. I felt the intense heat. It didn't last very long. When the fire stopped I fell forward and landed on my hands and knees. I was completely drain of energy.

"I guess... I'll save that... as a last resort." I said in between breaths.

Man, I really hope I didn't just kill Tseng. That would have just defeated the whole purpose of this fight.

I slowly stood up and looked in front of me. Tseng was gone. I began to panic until I saw him jump up from the the edge of the gondola. He suit was burnt a little but he looked fine. My heart sank at his appearance.

"That was interesting. Ready for round two?" Tseng asked as the red mist appeared around his hands again.

I was drained of my energy, I can barley stand, let alone lift my arms. My vision was already starting to go blurry. I wasn't going to survive this fight.


	22. Chapter 22: Not Yet

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I would be kicking back in a fold up lawn chair on the moon... Yeah, I'm not even sure how that one is possible.**_

_A/N: I know, it's a short chapter. I'm having really bad writers block right now so this actually helps me move the plot along And to answer some questions, yes, I will be incorporating some of the other characters, like Cloud for instance. Also, as for the whole relation ship thins, you'll just have to wait and see what I do with that._

* * *

><p>Chapter Twenty Two: Not Yet<p>

I wasn't going to survive this fight. The Gondola slowly escalated as Tseng took slow steps towards me. I couldn't move, my body protested, refusing to move any further. The only thing I could do was watch as my inevitable doom walked towards me. What I did next surprised both Tseng and myself. I grinned.

Seconds later Tseng's fist made contact with my face. It felt like a million shards of glass were just jammed right into my face. I stood my ground. Tseng quickly made a jab at my stomach. It felt as though her just jammed shards of glass right into my stomach. I coughed up blood. I stood my ground.

Tseng then began to do a string of continuous blows all over my upper body. I felt bones crack and organs rupture as each blow landed all over my torso. I wanted to scream out in pain but I couldn't even open my mouth wide enough to do so, let alone scream. I stood my ground.

Tseng continued with the string of punches. I could feel the rage that was built up over the years in Tseng though each fist that made contact with my body. My chest, my arms, my lungs, my stomach, everything above my waist felt like it was crushed to tiny little pieces. My legs gave out and I began to fall forward. Tseng caught me. His hands felt like daggers where digging into my skin. He leaned forward and whispered into my ear.

"I'm not finished yet." Tseng whispered. His voice was calm. His fist was fast. I didn't even see it when he punched me square in the face. I fell backwards onto the purple hook. It was the only thing keeping me up. My vision was blurry from blood. He continued to strike my face with his fists. Each blow stronger then the last. I stood my ground.

I slowly began to black out. My body had finally given me the peace of numbness as Tseng struck me as hard as he could on the left side of my face. I fell off the gondola, grinning the entire time.

* * *

><p>Tseng had watched as the man in front of him grinned like a lunatic the entire time. As each blow landed he never lost his grin. It surprised him. It made him mad as well. That stupid grin, it was as though he were mocking him. Telling him "Come on, is that all you have?". He can here Veld's voice in his head now.<p>

"You're to rash, you let your emotions get the better of you." Veld told him after he mission. It was a success but they had lost many good men that day. He was hot headed, he charged into a fire fight without thinking. It almost cost him his life. Instead, many soldiers took the bullets that were meant for him. After that day he swore to never let his anger best him.

Now here he stands, beating a man he hardly knew to death over a few petty insults. It wasn't the insults that got to him, no, far from it. The insult just triggered it, built up anger over the years. The insults were just the keys that unlocked the door. He himself opened it when he decided to fight this man.

His opponents face was covered in blood. His body was battered and bruised. The only thing supporting him was the purple hook that was behind him. Tseng narrowed his eyes at him. With one final swing, his fist made contact with the left side of his face. The force was enough to knock him off the gondola. What surprised Tseng the most, he was still grinning. He watched him as he plummeted down to the Coral Prison below, the stupid grin on his face.

When the gondola came to a stop Tseng jumped off the top of it, landing right in front of the ticket lady to the gondola. She gasped when she saw him.

"S-Sir! Y-you're covered in blood! What happened to you!" She shouted in surprise. Tseng didn't bother to look at her.

"It's not mine." Tseng said as he pulled out his PHS. He pressed a few buttons on it and waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

"That was more then five minuets yo." Reno said.

"Pick me up at the gondola ride." Tseng said bluntly before hanging up. Hr took a deep breath before leaning against the gondola. He suddenly started coughing violently.

He had over done it on his attack. Using "Bloody Hands" always had a negative effect on him.

The ticket lady stared at him with a terrified look on her face.

"Turk business." Tseng told her. That did little to calm her down. In fact, it made her look even more scared. He knew that she wouldn't do anything, no one was dumb enough to interfere with the Turks.

Soon the sound of the helicopter could be heard. Tseng wasted no time in boarding the helicopter.

"So, how'd you're date go yo?" Reno asked jokingly.

"Killed him. He didn't put up much of a fight." Tseng said as he leaned back.

"You don't look so good." Rude pointed out.

"Don't worry about that, we have a mission to do." Tseng said as he started coughing again.

"Look yo, I know you like to constantly stay busy and all but you need to have a break some times. I can tell that the fight took a lot out of you. You might wanna get some one else to go to the temple instead yo." Reno said.

"We can't do that, it's my mission." Tseng said.

"I think Reno's right for once." Rude said.

"Hate to say it but besides Elena, ma and Rude have our own assignments yo." Reno said.

"Rude and I." Rude corrected.

"Shut up!" Reno shouted. Tseng just sighed. He new he was going to have to find someone to take his place. He leaned back into his seat and sighed.

* * *

><p>Cait Sith watched helplessly as the gondola carried both Boto and Tseng away.<p>

"Well, that settles that. I haven't seen the chief in action for a while yo." Reno said.

"Reno, let's go." Rude said as he boarded the helicopter.

"What about him yo?" Reno said as he pointed to Cait Sith.

"What about him? He still has a job to do just like we do. Now let's go." Rude said. Reno silently followed.

Cait Sith watched as the helicopter slowly took off. Rude was right, what was he going to do now? He couldn't risk blowing his cover in Shinra and have Reeve found out. But he couldn't let Boto die either. Cait looked to his mog for help. It looked back up at him and shrugged.

Cait put his paws in his head and slowly shook it.

"What am I going to do?" He said in a worried tone. His head quickly shot up. "I can't just sit here worrying! I've got to find out if I can help Boto!" He shouted as he quickly took off.

Cait Sith went through multiple entrances trying to find out where Boto and Tseng could have ended up. It suddenly hit him that they were both on top of the gondola so chances are they would end up where the ride started. Cait felt like an idiot for not realizing this sooner.

When he finally reached the gondola ride he only saw the ticket lady. Her face was pale.

"Excuse me! Did you see a couple of lads come through here? One wearing a suit and the other a black hoody?" Cait asked in a hurry. The woman seemed to snap out of a daze.

"Huh?" She asked, a bit confused.

"Did you see two guys pass through here? On wearing a suit and the other a black hoody?" Cait asked. She shook her head.

"N-no, only... Only a man in a suit. He was covered in blood... Said it was Turk business." She said.

"Are you sure?" Cait asked. She nodded her head. Cait lowered his head.

"No, he's got to be around here some where!" Cait said out loud. He quickly took off back to the main entrance of the Gold Saucer.

"Cait Sith?" He heard a voice. He turned around and saw Cloud and Aeris.

"What brings you out here?" Aeris asked politely. Cait was hesitant to speak. He looked away from both of them.

"Cait?" Aeris asked in a concerned tone now

"W-... We've got a problem." Cait said.

* * *

><p>"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you now." Barret said as he pointed his gun arm at Cait Sith.<p>

When Cait ran into Cloud and Aeris he told them to follow him back to the hotel. He work everyone up and explained to them the situation about the keystone and how he handed it off to Tseng. About how he was a spy for Shinra and how he wanted to change. He then told them what happened to Boto and how he has gone missing.

"Barret, calm down." Aeris said, trying to sound reasonable.

"How can you say 'Calm down'? He's a spy for Shinra! He gave away the keystone and got Boto killed!" Barret shouted, his gun arm still pointed at Cait Sith. No one took the news well. Of course, who would take the news well?

"I know, look, I'm sorry! But-" Cait was cut off.

"Sorry aint gonna bring him back! Sorry aint gonna stop me from shootin you either!" Barret shouted. Barret was getting ready to shoot him.

"I know where the Temple of the Ancients is!" Cait shouted. Cloud shove Barret's gun arm away.

"You do?" Cloud asked in a serious tone. Cait nodded his head slowly.

"I do. But, we can't go yet! We have to find Boto!" Cait shouted.

"Boto's dead! You said it your self!" Barret shouted.

"He never said that! The only thing he said was that he couldn't find his body!" Tifa shouted at him.

"We can't stay here." Cloud said bluntly. "The longer we stay the less of a chance we have and finding whatever is in the temple." Cloud said.

"Whoa, hold on a sec, if there's a chance that this guys survived then shouldn't we at least try lookin' fer him?" Cid asked.

"I agree, we need to move now for lost time." Vincent said.

"Guys." Yuffie said.

"How can you say that! He's out friend! If's there's a chance of him still being alive I say we take it!" Tifa shouted.

"Guyyyyys." Yuffie said again.

"There may be more lives lost if we don't move now." Cloud said, keeping a calm voice.

"So you are saying you don't care for Boto?" Nanaki asked.

"I didn't say that. I'm itching to get some pay back for him but we can't waist time." Cloud said.

"Guys!" Yuffie shouted. Everyone went silent and stared at her. "Look!" She shouted as she pointed to the top of the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a very tall women wearing a black dress. She had long brown hair and green eyes. In both of her arms she held what looked like a lifeless Boto.

Everyone stared in horrified silence at the woman in black. She slowly walked to the left and out of sight.

Cloud was the first to move. He bolted up the stairs and took a left. He saw her enter into the third room to the right. He readied his buster sword and charged after her.

She was gone. When Cloud rounded the corner to enter the room she was gone. The only thing he saw was an unconscious Boto.

"What the?" Cloud asked as he looked around the room.

* * *

><p>Elena was walking down the corridors of the temple. She was examining the pictures on the walls when she heard a yelp behind her. She sighed.<p>

"Would you stop messing around back there! You're representing both the Turks and Shinra's army right now!" She shouted.

"Sorry, just.. Uh... Tripped." The infantryman said nervously.

"And would you stop staring at me!" Elena shouted.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just that Uh... It's just that when I see something I like I can't stop from staring... Not saying that I like you or anything!" He put his hands up defensively! "Wait, that's not what I meant! I mean I like you but I don't like you! I mean- Guahhhh!" He shouted in pain as he grabbed his left leg, almost falling over." "Leg cramp." He said weakly as he bent down on his right knee, holding his left leg.

Elena just rolled her eyes.

"You're hopeless." Elena said.

"Yeah... just give me a minuet." The infantryman said.

"Look, I need to go report to the president. You stay here and look for any clues to what can lead us to the promise land." Elena said as she began to leave the temple.

"Yeah, no problem." The infantryman said as he held his leg. After Elena left his leg cramp disappeared. He stood up and continued to examine the walls.

"Man these... Stablets, I think that's the right for for these pictures on the walls, look incredible. Boy, that Elena sure is something though. Come on, don't be shy around her, she just a Turk... Just... A... Turk..." He trailed off. Suddenly Sephiroth is floating right behind the infantryman. Sephiroth then kneels down behind him, sword sticking straight up. The infantryman turns around and jumps back at the sight of Sephiroth.

"Whoa!" He shouts as readies his gun and points it at Sephiroth.

"So you opened the door. Well done." Sephiroth said as he stood up.

"Don't come any closer." The infantryman warned, holding his gun firmly.

"Fool, you stand no chance against me." Sephiroth rushes through the infantryman. The infantryman fell to the ground. Sephiroth simply walked past him.

"You will live again as part of me." Sephiroth said as he waled away, suddenly vanishing into thin air.

The infantryman lay on the floor, bleeding.

"Ugh, not good." He said weakly as he began to crawl. He slowly pulled out a green orb from his pocket. "Heh heh, looks like this cure materia Tseng gave me is going to come in handy after all." He said as she used it on him self.

"I think I can walk." He said as he slowly stood up. He leaned against the wall and started to make his way out of the temple. "I've... gotta tell... Someone... Anyone... Sephiroth is here..." He said in between breaths.


	23. Chapter 23: And He Pulled The Trigger

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then I would have re made Final Fantasy VII by now... Maybe.**_

_A/N: One again, sorry for the late update. I've had really bad writes block, though I seem to be past that... I hope. Just a quick announcement, Boto will not be paired with anyone._

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><p>Chapter Twenty Three: And He Pulled The Trigger<p>

The soldier emptied his clip into the monster before him. He ejected the empty clip and quickly slammed another into his machine gun. He fired a few more rounds into the thing that lay before him before moving on.

"Man oh man, this is crazy. Almost as crazy as that I time threw my self and my squad off that cliff... Wait, was that just a story I heard? I don't remember. Oh well, I'll have to ask around when I get back... If I get back. Wait, I shouldn't be talking like that. I'll make it back." The soldier said as he traveled through the huge labyrinth.

He limped along the sides of the walls, avoiding confrontation with the random monsters that roamed the ancient temple.

"Man, what was the name of the movie I saw a while back? It had that catchy song. Went along the line of _Dance Magic Dance_ or something." He said as he neared the entrance of the temple. The soldier was feeling light headed and weak. When he made it to the entrance of the temple he collapsed onto the ground. Tired and out of breath he slowly crawled to the nearest wall and leaned his back against it. He was breathing heavily. He managed to stop the blood flow from his wound due to the cure materia but not fully heal it.

"Heh heh, man, I really wish I was better with materia." He said weakly. "My eyes feel so heavy, just a little nap will do." He closed his eyes He drifted off to sleep until he heard a voice.

"Hey, I think this guy is still alive." A mans voice said. The soldiers eyes shot open as he readied his gun. The man in front of him held out a huge buster sword. There was also a woman in a pink dress with him, along with another woman wearing a white shirt and black skirt. There was also another man with a gun arm and a man with a spear and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. All of them seemed ready to fight.

The soldier just sighed and out his gun down.

"You know, I'm not much of a fighter. Wanted to be a journalist instead. Looks like that didn't turn out so well." He chuckled.

"Why did ou become a soldier?" The woman in pink asked as she put her staff down and walked over to him.

"Aeris! Don't get close to him!" The man with the buster sword warned.

"I don't think he's going to hurt anyone." The woman in pink, Aeris, said softly. The soldier responded with a soft smile.

"Hey, I know you guys. You're that, uh, what's it called. "He began snapping his fingers, trying to remember the name. "It's uh... AVALANCHE! That's it! You guys are all over the wanted posters back at Shinra." He said. He then reached into the belt of his uniform for something. Everyone readied there weapons again.

The soldier pulled out the keystone instead.

"That's!-" Cloud exclaimed.

"Heh heh, yup, the one and only. I figure you guys need it more then I do. I'm done in there." He handed the keystone to Aeris.

"What happened down there? The wound you have doesn't look to good." Aeris asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, that;'s the problem, I ran into... Sephiroth." The soldier said.

"Sephiroth..." The blond buster sword wielder said with bitterness in his voice.

"Yeah... Just... Be careful down there..." The soldier trialed off before passing out again.

* * *

><p>I was falling down. The wind was rushing past my head as I was blacking out. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. But it never came. The wind slowly died down until it came to a full stop. I felt like I was in some ones arms.<p>

"My child." Jenovas voice rang. "If only you would have listened to me from the beginning. None of this would be happening." I felt her place her hand on my stomach. Suddenly a warm sensation swept over my body. I could feel all my bones and organs being healed. It wasn't like a restore or cure materia, this caused no pain when mending bones.

I stayed silent, not wanting to open my eyes. Even though I was being healed my body felt so weak and tired.

"My child, your time is coming to an end. I fear that the Cetra is going to hinder my plans dearly. In order to prove your self, your one final chance, I want you to kill the Cetra. I feel that she will be separating her self from the group. Of course, you most likely already knew that. When she does separate her self from the group, I will take you to her. For now my child, rest." She whispered into my ear. She placed me gently onto the ground. I laid there for what felt like hours. I couldn't think, I didn't want to think. I just wanted to sleep.

Suddenly the ground started to shake. I heard distant voice, though I couldn't make them out. I tossed my head from side to side, trying to shake off the shaking that was going on.

"I think he's waking up." I heard some one say in the distance. My eyes shot open and I was staring at the blue sky. I tried to sit up quickly but a surge of pain shout through my torso. I quickly feel back down.

"Take it easy! It looks like you've been to Hell and back." Yuffie said as she quickly placed her hand on my chest to make sure that I stay down.

"Wh... What happened." I asked weakly. I looked around at my surroundings. We were on the Tiny Bronco. We were currently at a beach head near a forest. On the Tiny Bronco with me were Yuffie, Vincent and Nanaki.

"We found you at the Gold Saucer. The woman in black you described earlier... She was carrying you." Nanaki said.

"Yeah! It was creepy because she was just holding you while staring at all of us! She then disappeared down the hallway at the Ghost Hotel! So we charged after her! When we caught up with her she was gone! You were just laying on one of the beds to the room we were staying in looking like you were dead! Aeris patched you up though." Yuffie said.

"After that we quickly hurried to the Temple of the Ancients. As you might have already guessed, Cait Sith is a spy for Shinra. He lead the way. Right now Cloud and the others are at the temple. Cait Sith was with us earlier but was called to join them not to long ago." Nanaki said.

"The shaking has died down. The temple's gone." Vincent said.

"Hey you're right! I wonder what's going on?" Yuffie asked. I sat up again. My eyes widened.

NO! We're already here! Crap!

"I-I've got to get to the temple." I said weakly as I tried to move. Yuffie held me down.

"You're not going any where! Besides, it looks like Cloud and the others have it taken care of... I hope." Yuffie said. I still struggled to get up but failed miserably.

"Just calm down. Everything is all right." Nanaki tried to reassure me. I finally decided to relax.

"Wow, you're good at this Nanaki!" Yuffie exclaimed.

What's done is done. I can still try to stop meteor from being summoned. But, what am I going to do about Aeris and what Jenova said...

"Here they come." Vincent said.

"Guys! We got a problem!" I heard Barret shout. I slowly turned my head to see Barret carrying Cloud on his back and Cid carrying Aeris on his back.

"What happened!" Yuffie shouted out in a shocked tone.

"Shit hit the fan." Cid said bluntly.

"Boto! You're awake!" Cait Sith exclaimed. I just nodded my head.

"What happened to Cloud and Aeris?" Nanaki asked.

"Well, it started when we reached the temple." Tifa went on to explain what had happened. How they found Sephiroth and the black materia. How it could summon meteor and how they had to obtain it. She then explained how Cloud gave Sephiroth the black materia and then proceeded to beat Aeris until she passed out.

"So Sephiroth had the black materia then." Nanaki said. Tifa nodded her head with a gloomy look on her face. Everyone went silent.

"Boto, what happened with you at the Gold Saucer?" Nanaki asked. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"I... I decided to go wondering around. I saw Cait Sith speaking with one of the Turks. I saw him handing over the key stone so I tried to stop him... I screwed up guys. He got the better of me and beat me. After that I blacked out. I just remember waking up here." I lied. I couldn't tell them about Jenova wanting me to kill Aeris. I don't know how I would explain that.

"Wither way we need to get out asses movin'" Cid said as he seated him self into the cockpit.

"He's right, both Aeris and Cloud need medical attention. So far phoenix downs, potions and the cure materia have done little for them." Tifa said.

"Where we goin' then?" Barret asked.

"Gongaga. It's small and out of the way. We can lay low there." Vincent suddenly said. Everyone turned to look at him.

That would explain why they go there.

"Any objections?" Cid asked. No one said anything. "Then let's go." Cid said as he started up the Tiny Bronco.

It took us a couple of days to travel to Gongaga by both the plane and by foot. No one really said anything. There was a heavy gloom in the air that just pressed against everyone. Aeris didn't wake up for a while. When we reached Gongaga the residents of the small town were more then willing to help us.

I was able to move around and walk but it was at a very slow pace.

For some reason Aeris stayed unconscious. I thought that she would have woken up by now but she didn't. I tried to keep an eye on her to make sure that she won't just suddenly disappear on me but everyone insisted that I get some rest.

After a while I gave into their demands and laid down on one of the beds that was provided for us. I was the only one in the room at the time. As I was laying down Cait Sith walked in.

"Boto, we need to talk." Cait Sith said in a serious tone. I nodded my head.

"I know, you want to know what really happened after I fought with Tseng." I said as Cait walked over to me. I told him the whole story, of how Jenova caught me and tole me that I was supposed to kill Aeris.

"So, what are we going to do?" Cait asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. I really don't know." I said softly. "We have no plan and time is running out. I have yet to make any difference here. That whole thing with Tseng, it was a complete waist. He still ended up taking the keystone and getting injured." I said. My voice dropping to a low sad tone.

"Not exactly." I perked my head up. "It turns out Tseng had to send in a regular solider to cover for him. When I was meeting up with the others, you know, after the other me sacrificed himself to obtain the black materia, I saw him lying on the ground. I ended up helping him. So, you did make a little bit of a difference." Cait said cheerfully. I grinned a little. Though it quickly went away when Barret came bursting though the door.

"Guys! Aeris is gone!" Barret shouted. Both Cait Sith and I gave each other worried looks. We were ran out of time and we had no plan on how to save Aeris.

"Didn't you foo's hear me! I said Aeris is gone! We can't find her!" Barret shouted again.

"Yeah... I heard you." I said sadly. "I think we should split up into groups looking for her." I said.

"Yeah! We've got to find her! As fast as we-" Cait Sith was suddenly cut off. I looked over at him. He was frozen in his place. Barret was as well.

"It is time, my child." I heard Jenova's voice ring in my head. Suddenly I was engulfed in a white light.

* * *

><p>"Yeah! We've got to find her! As fast as we can! Right Boto!... Boto?" Cait Sith asked as he looked over at the spot where Boto was.<p>

"Where'd he go?" Barret asked as he began to look around the room.

"Oh no." Cait whispered.

* * *

><p>I was walking down a path in the middle of the forest. At the end of it there was a very bright light. Everything around me seemed hazy, like I was in a dream. I was somehow carrying all of my equipment and weapons.<p>

"This... This looks like the dream that Cloud had when he was unconscious. Or, right now." I said out loud to my self. As I was walking I slowed down my pace until I came to a full stop.

"What am I even doing here? I have no plan. I... I'm drawing a blank on what to do next... I-I don't think I can save Aeris... Either I kill her... Or I don't kill her and have Jenova or Sephiroth kill me instead... I... I don't know what to do." I said as I fell to my knees. I put my hands over my face.

"I shouldn't even bee here. This is supposed to be a video game! Damn it!" I shouted as I began to pound the grass with my right fist. "Maybe I should just listen to Jenova! I can finally get the Hell out of here! I mean, she did save me on multiple occasions before... Heh heh, she threatened to kill me as well." I started laughing to my self about that.

"Hahahaha! What kind of mother does that! Save their children only to threaten to kill them! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I was losing it. I couldn't stop laughing. Then, it suddenly hit me.

"Wait! I know what I can do!" I stood up. "I now what I can do! It's been so obvious! So simple!" I smacked my self in the head. " I should have done this from the very beginning!" I shouted. I started running down the forest path, straight into the light.

* * *

><p>Aeris was kneeling down, praying to the planet to give her the strength to summon Holy. She had a very little amount of time before the others reached her. She had woken up in a strange bed. It didn't take her long to remember what had happened at the Temple. How Cloud had lost it and given Sephiroth the black materia. How he had lost control of him self... She wasn't mad. She actually felt sorry for Cloud.<p>

Aeris knew what needed to be done. She could feel the planet calling her to do this, where to go, how to do it. There was one final place she had to go. She felt that she wasn't going to return with the others. She didn't want to break their hearts but she had to do it. It was for the good of the planet. So, without anyone noticing, she left.

Barret was watching her and Cloud at the time. Luckily for her, Barret was fast asleep on a chair planted in the middle of the room. She slowly crept out. For some reason, her journey didn't take her very long. What would have taken days, even weeks on foot, took her only a matter of hours to travel.

So, here she was, kneeling, praying to the planet to give her the strength to summon holy. The only thing that is able to combat meteor. She was focused on the task at hand. In fact, so focused that she didn't even hear the person behind her, not until he spoke.

"Hello Aeris." Boto said. Aeris quickly jumped onto her feet.

"Boto! I didn't- How... How did you get here?" Aeris asked in a shocked tone. Boto just grinned. Though something seemed off about his grin, it wasn't normal.

"I've been asking my self that question ever since I woke up in Midgar, almost a month ago." He said as he pulled out one of his pistols.

"Boto... What do you mean?" Aeris asked, starting to sound a little worried.

"That's not the important thing right now." Boto said as he cocked the top of his pistol back, ejecting a bullet from the chamber. The bullet fell to the ground with a clank and roll off the side of the platform they were on. He did this multiple times.

"Boto... What are you doing?" Aeris asked as she took a couple of steps back. Boto's grin grew wider, making him look like a mad man.

"You know, I was tasked with a mission. It was, to put it bluntly, to screw you guys over. You know? All of AVALANCHE and what not." He said as he ejected more bullets from the gun. "But I didn't want to do that. Me, being the good guy that I am, refused. So, I ended up paying the price for it. Sadly, I'm all out of money." He said as the bullets kept falling to the ground.

"Boto..." Aeris said, worry was heavy in her voice.

"It's so funny though! It turns out, the only thing I needed in order to pay for everything was just" Another bullet fell to the ground, "One" Another made a clank as it hit the ground, "Simple" He ejected one more bullet from the chamber, "Bullet." He said as he lifted up his gun.

"I'm sorry Aeris. Please don't be mad about this. It's just the way it has to be." Boto said as he pointed his gun at his target.

"Aeris! Cloud shouted. He was running as fast as he could to where Boto and Aeris where standing.

"Aw, Cloud's here already. I was hoping he wouldn't have to see this." Boto said. Aeris' eyes widened in horror as she stared at the barrel of Boto's gun. Boto grinned...


	24. Chapter 24: All The Difference

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did then... Yeah, I would still be slow at getting chapters out.**_

_A/N: At the advice of an anonymous reviewer I will not leave you with a cliff hanger._

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><p>Chapter Twenty Four: All The Difference<p>

When Cloud had woken up he saw that Barret and Tifa were standing in front of him, waiting fro him to wake up. They informed him that Aeris and Boto had both gone missing and that everyone else was currently searching for both of them and that they decided to stay and watch over Cloud. Cloud knew where Aeris left to. As for Boto, he didn't know.

"... City of the Ancients. Aeris is headed there." Cloud said as he sat up in his bed.

"By her self! Why did she go be her self!" Barret shouted. Cloud just closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

"Only the Ancients... Only Aeris can save us from Meteor." Cloud said.

"Then we must go! What'll we do if something happens to Aeris? If Sephiroth finds her, she's in trouble!" Tifa exclaimed. Cloud just shook his head again.

"Sephiroth... He already knows." Cloud said. Both Tifa and Barret gave Cloud a horrified look.

"Hey! Why are you sittin' around!" Barret shouted.

"Let's go Cloud!" Tifa said. Cloud just shook his head.

"No." He said bluntly. He then leaned forward and put his head into his hands.

"I might lose it again. If Sephiroth comes near me I might..." Cloud trailed off. He didn't want to think about what would happen. He was terrified.

"Yeah dammit! It's 'cuz of you that Sephiroth got the black materia in the first place! It's your damn fault!" Barret shouted. Cloud lifted his head out of his hands and stared at Barret.

"My fault?" Cloud asked weakly. He felt the guilt rushing through his body.

"I know you got problems... Hell, we all do. But you don't even understand yourself. But you gotta understand that there ain't no getting' off this train we're on, till we get to the end of the line." Barret said sternly. At the same time, his words were very comforting. Cloud still didn't trust himself though.

"Cloud, we came this far... Aren't you even going to settle up with Sephiroth?" Tifa asked. Cloud clutched his head.

"No... I'm afraid. If this keeps up, I may go crazy!" Cloud said. Panic was starting to spread through his body.

"I'm afraid." Cloud said again. Barret shook his head this time.

"Just a damn jackass, that's what you are... Yo, jes' think about it. How many people in this world do ya think really understand themselves? People get depressed in life because they don't know what's up. But, they go on living. They don't run away... Isn't that how it is?" Barret asked before leaving the room.

"Cloud... You'll come with us, right? I believe in you." Tifa said softly before leaving the room as well.

"What... Am I supposed to do? Pull out here? Pull out? … To Where?" Cloud asked himself. He was at a loss for what to do. He didn't know what to think. What was the real reason why he didn't want to go. Could it be that he was afraid. Afraid of what?

"I'm... Afraid to find out the Truth?... But... Why?" Cloud asked himself. He stood up to leave the room and walked outside where Tifa and Barret where.

"Cloud..." Tifa trailed off.

"I just wanna know, which is it gonna be? You wanna find out about your self? Or are you afraid to find out? Either way, you stay around here and about all you can do is worry about it. Even if you do go nuts again when you see Sephiroth... If it happens again, it happens. I'll go upside your spikey white head and bring you back to normal!" Barret said as he made a punching motion with his gun arm.

"Cloud, it'll be all right. We're all with you." Tifa said comfortingly.

"But..." Cloud started.

"If it happens, it happens. Don't worry about it." Barret said a little more forcefully. Cloud then crossed his arms.

"You're right... He's right, isn't he?" Cloud said with a bit of confidence in his voice.

"Come on, let's go find Aeris." Tifa said. Everyone nodded their head.

"First, we have to contact the other groups and let them know where Aeris is." Cloud said.

"What about Boto?" Barret asked. Cloud went silent.

"I don't know... He'll show up, I know he will. Right now we just have to focus on Aeris." Cloud said.

They took off for the Tiny Bronco and left for Bone Village. They contacted the other groups and told them to meet them there. When they arrived they learned about the harp and how they had to use it to enter the forest. It took them a while but they finally found it. Tifa was able to play it. They entered the forest and headed for the City of the Ancients. So far it was still just Barret and Tifa with Cloud, the others and yet to catch up.

Cloud had run ahead of the group, ignoring the protests from Barret and Tifa. As soon as the building was I site he took off. He had to know if Aeris was safe. At the same time, he was terrified of hurting her again. He had no idea if he was going to lose control again. With each step that he took his heart beat faster and faster.

He ran down the spiral stair case as fast as he could. As soon as Aeris was in view was gave an inward sigh of relief. But was horrified at what he saw behind her.

"Aeris!" Cloud shouted.

I suddenly felt very calm. Before I was so nervous, now it's the complete opposite. I pulled the trigger, not hard enough to fire the bullet, just enough to make it move.

I saw Cloud running at us. Aeris reached out her hand to stop me in desperation. Suddenly everything stopped. Cloud was in mid jump up to where both Aeris and I were while Aeris was still reaching her hand out, starting to stand up and lunge forward.

I kept my gun in it's place. I had this planned out from the beginning. So far, it was working.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jenova's voice rang. It didn't sound soothing. She sounded angry.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I said cockily. She just narrowed her eyes at me.

"It looks like you are going to shoot your self." Jenova said. I laughed.

"Yup, I am. But before I do, I do, I want you to do something." I said, gun still pointed to the right side of my head.

"You are in no position to make demands. If you end your life then that is your choice. I will simply have Sephiroth finish what you couldn't do." She said calmly. I just shook my head.

"I'm not as dumb as you think. I know that you need me here." I said. Jenova just continued to stare at me.

"Don't give me that look, you know what I'm talking about." I said. Both of us stood completely still.

"You're simply making things up." Jenova finally said. I shook my head again.

"I'm the reason you're here." I said bluntly. Jenova narrowed her. I continued.

"You may have brought me into this world but I'm the reason why you're able to manifest your self like this. You see, I've figured it out." I said.

"Please, do tell." Jenova said in an angered voice. I grinned.

"When you placed a part of your self in my mind. That's how you're able to do this, that's how I'm able to hear you when you're not around. That was your second mistake." I said.

"Then what was my first?" Jenova asked.

"Your first mistake? Your first mistake was bringing me here thinking that I was going to help you!" I shouted.

"My child-" Jenova began but I cut her off.

"Don't give me that crap! I'm not your child! The only thing I need to do is just pull this trigger and the both of us are gone! I destroy my mind and the part of you that's in me goes as well! Meaning that you won't be able to appear like this." I said coldly.

"The Cetra will still die." Jenova said.

"Not unless you give into my demands." I said. Jenova had her eyes trained on me the entire time.

This feels so weird, I'm holding my self hostage.

"What are they?" Jenova finally said.

"Order Sephiroth to leave." I said bluntly.

"I would have to have time playing normally again." Jenova said.

"Then do it. If you don't, then I shoot my self." I said.

"Then the Cetra will die." Jenova said, venom in her voice.

"And in the end you still lose!" I shouted.

"Then I will simply stop you from shooting your self and force you to kill her." Jenova said.

"How? You haven't forced me to do a thing! You can hurt me but you can't control me." I said. Jenova went silent.

"So what's it gonna be? Die here or die later?" I asked. Jenova just glared at me. She simply waved her hand and before I knew it, time was back to normal again.

"Boto!" Aeris shouted as she stood up. She tried to rush over to me but was suddenly stopped. It was as though an invisible shield was put up.

"Stay back!" I shouted. I saw Cloud land onto the plat form we were standing on.

"What the..." Cloud said as he stared at me then to the woman in black.

"Now, do it." I said to Jenova. Jenova just glared at me. Suddenly Sephiroth descended from above. He landed next to Jenova.

"Mother, you called for me?" Sephiroth said.

"Mother!" Both Cloud and Aeris shouted out.

"That's right, this woman is the calamity from the skies her self, Jenova." I said.

"Sephiroth... I need to go on ahead." Jenova said calmly.

"But... Mother, I can kill the Cetra now." Sephiroth said as he readied his sword.

"Stay your blade." Jenova said, anger in her voice. Sephiroth looked confused.

"You might want to listen to her." I said as I pressed the gun harder against my head.

"You worthless scum. You can't order me around." Sephiroth said as he took a step closer to me. Jenova stuck her arm out and held him back.

"Leave." Jenova said sternly. Sephiroth stood there in silence before taking slowly ascending back into the air.

"Boto?" Aeris asked worriedly.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted. I saw her and Barret running up to the pillars that led to the plat form. They stopped and froze in horror at what they saw.

"Boto! What are ya doing man!" Barret shouted.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." I said, getting ready to pull the trigger.

"You said you wouldn't." Jenova said as he glared at me again. I laughed.

"Yeah, well, I guess I lied." I said.

"Boto! Don't!" Aeris said, tears were about to start coming out of her eyes.

"You won't returns home. Nor will you go to the life stream." Jenova said.

"Does it look like I care about any of that right now! I've known from the beginning that I wouldn't be going home! And I don;t care if I go to the life stream! At least this way... This way I'll be making a difference." I said.

"Boto... What's she talking about?"

"Sorry guys, I won;t be able to answer that." I said, now with a soft smile on my face.

"Boto please, don't do this!" Aeris pleaded.

"You know, I once heard a saying. The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. I just never knew it would mean simply taking my self out of that place." I said.

"Boto! Don't!" Tifa shouted. I closed my eyes and gave a genuine smile.

"I'm sorry everyone. Tell the others I'm sorry as well. I;m so glad that I was able to meet all of you. It looks my my train stops here." The world went silent around me. Aeris was crying, looking like she was shouting 'No'. Cloud was standing there, completely frozen, not knowing what to do. Jenova looked calm. Either way it didn't matter. I took one last breath and pulled the trigger. Everything went dark.

* * *

><p>Boto pulled the trigger on his gun and killed him self. As soon as his body hit the floor Jenova disappeared. Both Cloud and Aeris ran over to Boto's body while Barret and Tifa made their way up to the platform.<p>

"No! Boto no! It wasn't supposed to end like this! You weren't supposed to die! You weren't supposed to die!" Aeris kept shouting over and over again. She had come to accept her death, she knew that she was going to die here. Now, someone had taken her place. She didn't want anyone to take her place.

Cloud watched in silence. He didn't know what to think. There was no one to be mad at, no one to blame. Boto chose to take his life. Cloud wanted to be ,ad, he wanted to be angry, but at who?

"You dumbass! Get up! You're not supposed to go like this! You're train never stopped! Get up!" Barret shouted. He ran next to Boto and yelled at him. Hoping that he would get up.

Tifa was silent. Tears slipping out of her eyes. She didn't know what else to say. One of her friends ended their life. She couldn't do anything to stop it.

"I... I have to finish... Finish summoning Holy." Aeris slowly said.

"Summoning... Holy?" Cloud slowly repeated. Aeris nodded her head

"That's why I came here... To summon Holy. It... It will stop Meteor but... But I haven;t finished yet." Aeris said. Cloud nodded his head slowly.

With tears in her eyes Aeris tried to go back to pray to summon Holy. She couldn't focus like before. It would take longer to do so. But she knew she needed to do this. She needed to summon it.

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><p><em>AN: Just in case you're wondering, this isn't the end for Boto. He'll be back, you'll just have to wait and see how._


	25. Chapter 25: The Journey Continues

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**_

_A/N: Hi everyone! I'm still alive! I've been very busy lately so I wasn't able to update. But, on the bright side I now have a beta-reader! Please give a big hand to Serendipital! She is a huge help so far! If things sound all spiced up, it's thanks to her! Also, if you are wonder what Boto looks like, or at leas his head, you can see it on the main picture thing! I will put a better picture up! Now then, on with the story!_

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><p>Chapter Twenty Five: The Journey Continues<p>

Everyone remained silent as Aerith summoned Holy. There wasn't much to be said at the moment. As they waited for the rest of the group to show up Barret moved Boto's body, carefully leaning him against the wall. Suddenly, the materia in Aeris' hair started glowing. Aeris slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes.

"It's done-" Aerith cut herself off with a gasp as her eyes suddenly widened.

"Aerith?" Cloud said as he rushed over to her. "What's the matter?" He knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Aerith blinked a couple of times and shook her head slowly.

"I-I'm fine. It's just... Never mind. I must be tired is all. Summoning Holy took a lot out of me." Aerith said as she slowly stood up.

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked. Aerith just nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm fine. If Sephiroth summons Meteor then Holy will be able to stop it."

"What do we do now?" Barret asked, leaning his back against one of the nearby pillars.

"We move on" Cloud picked up his sword and swung it over his shoulder onto his back. "I may not fully understand myself but I know one thing, Sephiroth is still out there and I need to settle the score with him." Cloud looked at the other three.

"What about..." Tifa trailed off as she looked over to Boto.

"I'll take care of that." Barret said as he walked over to Boto and picked his body up.

"What are you-" Barret held up his hand to silence Cloud. "Jus' follow me." Barret began walking up the steps. Everyone followed him, wondering what he was planning on doing with Boto's body.

When they reached the top Barret started to remove all of Boto's belongings.

"Barret, what are you doing?" Cloud asked when Barret had finished emptying Boto's pockets. He then picked up Boto's gun, Punisher, and slammed the barrel of it into the ground, standing it straight up.

"I'm burying Boto." Barret's fist curled into a ball as walked out into the middle of the lake, carrying Boto in his arms. He walked into the water until he was waist deep. In the middle of the lake was a ledge that dropped straight down. He placed Boto's body into the water and let him slowly sink. Barret watched as the ripples from the water distorted his figure.

"Looks like... His train did come to a stop." Barret began to shake violently and let out a vicious roar. "Damn it! You weren't suppos' to go like this! I ain't losin' any more friends!" Barret aimed his gunarm up and shot into the night sky. He fired until the only thing that could be heard were the clicking noises of an empty gun.

Barret walked back out of the water after he had calmed down, his head looking down at his feet. Cloud, Aeris and Tifa had their heads bowed as well. The four of them were silent.

"Aerith! You're all right!" A voice shouted from the distance. Everyone looked up to see that the rest of the group had finally arrived. Yuffie was the one that shouted.

She was running alongside Cait Sith. Both of them practically tackled Aerith to the ground.

"We thought you were a goner!" Cait shouted.

"Well I'll be. You really are okay. I had this gut feeling that you'd be dead. Guess I was wrong," Cid said as he pulled out a cigarette.

"I'm very relived to see that everyone is alright," Nanaki said as he walked up to Aerith. "Now we just need to find Boto and- Aerith what's wrong?" Aerith had a grim look on her face. Her head was tilted down and she wouldn't make eye contact with him. It was the same for Cloud, Tifa and Barret.

"What's wrong, guys?" Yuffie asked, giving everyone a puzzled look.

"Isn't that..." Vincent pointed over to Boto's grave. "Punisher?" Everyone looked over to the gun that was sticking out from the ground.

"It is!" Cait shouted. "But then... Where's Boto?"

"He didn't make it." Was the only thing Barret said. Only a gust of wind could be heard rustling through the trees.

"W-what?" Cait asked in disbelief.

"He shot himself" Cloud finally looked up at the group. "He shot himself. Why? I still don't know for sure... But... I think... He somehow saved Aerith..." Cloud went on to tell them the story of what had happened after he woke up. By the end of it Yuffie's face was pale. Cait Sith looked horrified while Cid, Nanaki and Vincent stayed silent.

"D-do you know what Jenova meant by... not returning home?" Cait asked as he shuffled his hands. He looked nervous about something.

Cloud shook his head. "That still puzzles me." Cloud proceeded to walk to the front of the group. "I still have a mission: take down Sephiroth. I'm not going to force any of you to follow me."

"We're all in this together. Once we get on this train... There ain't no getting' off." Barret stood next to Cloud. "We're with you 'till the end... I jus' wish I could say the same thing about Boto..." Barret trailed off.

Vincent started walking towards the grave. He began unloading the ammo from Punisher.

"Vincent! What are you doing!" Yuffie shouted out as she ran over to him and began pulling at his cape. "That's Boto's grave!"

"If these were under different circumstances I would leave it be. Unfortunately, we are hunting down a mad man who wants to destroy the world. We can't afford to let anything go to waste," As Vincent spoke, Yuffie slowly stopped tugging on his cape and bowed her head.

"I didn't know the kid very well, but I don't think he'd want this stuff to go to waste." Cid chimed in as he took the potions and ethers that were in Boto's satchel. He proceeded to pull out Boto's fire materia and toss it to Yuffie.

"What's this?" Yuffie asked as she fumbled the materia around in her hands, eventually tightening her grip on it.

Cid took a long drag from his cigarette before speaking. "I heard you like materia. By the looks of it, it's pretty damn strong."

"What about his phone?" Cait said as he rushed over to everyone.

"Shit, I don't know how to use it," Cid said.

"I'll take it! I might be able to do something with it!" Cait said quickly. He snatched it out of the satchel and tucked it away. He also took Boto's wallet while no one was paying attention. Everyone divided up Boto's stuff, leaving only empty pistols and Punisher. They stood before the lake silently one last time before moving on.

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><p>Cait Sith stayed in the back of the group as they followed Cloud. Cait didn't know how but Cloud somehow knew where to go. He would stop and grab his head, looking like he was in pain before telling everyone where to go next. And so they followed him through a cave and out into the open snowy field.<p>

'Boto... why did you shoot yourself? I thought... I though you knew what you were doing... I still want to keep my promise about not telling any where you're from but... Don't your friends deserve to know? Uahh, if only there to speak to you!' Cait thought to himself.

"Wait, Aerith!" Cait quickly caught up with her.

"Hm? What is it Cait?" Aerith asked with a soft smile.

"You can speak to the planet right? Can you hear Boto in the Lifestream?" Cait asked, desperation in his voice. Aeris went silent and grew a dark expression on her face. Noticing the change, Cait looked warily at her. "Aeris, what's wrong?"

"I... It's-" A couple of gunshots rang in the air, Vincent's gun smoking. Everyone quickly turned to look at him.

"Geez Vince!" Yuffie shouted, gathering up as much snow as she could and hurled it at Vincent. "Give a girl some warning beforehand!"

"Wolves." was the only thing Vincent said before he holstered his gun and began moving forward again.

"What?" Yuffie asked as she slowed down her bombardment.

"Look, wolves." Tifa pointed off into the distance. A couple of corpses lay on the ground.

"That was just a scouting party. We need to reach the nearest village as soon as possible." Nanaki looked back at the group, "Or else we will be swarmed by the main pack."

Cait gulped as he looked around for any more traces of the wolves.

"This is just great. I'm gonna get eaten by those dreadful things!." Cait complained.

"But... ain't you made outta metal and wires?" Barret asked.

"Doesn't mean I don't look delicious!" Cait shouted as they continued to move forward.

"We need to move fast. No stopping until we reach our destination." Cloud told the rest of the group. Everyone started running through the snow-covered field.

* * *

><p>" Why am I so outta breath!" Cid wheezed as he clutched his chest.<p>

"It's cause you smoke too damn much" Barret gasped for air as he ran next to Cid.

"What's your excuse? Too Damn fat?" Cid forced a cocky smirk onto his face.

"Imma kill you." Barret made an attempt to swipe at Cid with his gun arm. He ended up missing by a long shot.

"Stop fooling around and keep moving!" Nanaki ordered as he ran next to them.

"Jack ass," Both Barret and Cid wheezed.

* * *

><p>By the time the group reached Icicle Inn it was night fall.<p>

"Man, that was the most running I've ever done in my life" Yuffie said breathlessly as she bent forward, placing her hand on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"I do admit, I am a bit winded after that long run. It has been a while since I've run that long of a distance." Nanaki walked next to Yuffie as he spoke.

"You look perfectly fine you jack ass!" Cid was sprawled out on the ground trying to catch his breath as he spoke.

" We should find somewhere to stay for the night" Aerith leaned against a wall trying to put a smile on her face as she spoke.

"How much money do we have?" Cait asked, walking up to the group. Looking perfectly fine and healthy. Barret and Cid shot him glares for not having to suffer through the pain of such a long run.

"We don't have enough for an inn." Tifa sat down on a barrel that she had just cleared snow off of as she went through the groups savings.

"That really sucks! Imma boutta puke" Barret was also leaning against a wall, though he looked a lot more winded than Aerith did.

"We may have to just find an abandoned building to stay in." Cloud stood at the front of the group, looking over the buildings to find any that looked abandoned.

"Look, that big one to the far left looks empty. Let's check that one out!" Aerith pointed to the building. Cloud nodded his head and motioned for everyone to head towards it.

The building looked pretty old and out of use. Some of the windows had cracks on them. The door was, fortunately, unlocked and not hanging on its hinges so well. The inside didn't look any better than the outside. Most of the paint was chipped off. Dust covered everything. Books and papers were scattered all over the floor. None of them looked useful Everyone stated looking around the building for any traces of people living there. There was only a turbo ether.

"Hey! I think I found the light switch!" Yuffie shouted as there was a loud flipping sound. The sound of a generator could be heard throughout the building as the lights began to flicker to life. A couple of monitors flickered on as well. Everyone gathered around them. Cloud was the one that walked up to the main monitor.

"What's on it Cloud?" Tifa asked as she looked over his shoulder.

"It looks like..." Cloud began to say, " It looks like a bunch of video files. There's three of them. Original Crisis, What is "Weapon", and Confidential." Cloud covered his mouth his his left and as he spoke, using his right hand to select the first video.

"Should we be watching these? This isn't our house." Nanaki pointed out.

"It'll be fine. It ain't gonna hurt no one." Cid lit another cigarette as he spoke.

Cloud played the first. The screen showed two people, one male and one female. The male was wearing a lab coat while the female was wearing a red dress. Aerith gasped when she saw the woman in red.

"What is it Aerith? You know these people?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes, well, only one person. The woman in red... She's my mother." Everyone went silent after she said that. They watched all three videos in silence. Learning about Jenovas origins, about Weapon and how Aerith's father, Professor Gast, died. Everyone turned to Aerith to see how she was holding up. Her face was bowed, her hair covering her eyes.

"Aeris..." Cloud reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. She slowly lifted her head, smiling.

"I'm glad." Aerith looked at the group, "I'm glad I was able to see who my father was."

"But, ain't you mad at what that bastard Hojo did to your father?" Cid asked. Tifa quickly punched him in the arm.

"Of course I am. I'm just more happy about the fact that I was finally able to see my father." Aerith closed her eyes and gave everyone a soft smile while slightly tilting her head to the left.

"Well, that's good to hear. I suggest that we get some rest while we can. We have a mountain to climb tomorrow." Cloud walked over to the door and sat down in front of it. No one wanted to take the bed that was down stairs. Tonight, everyone just wanted to stick together in a group.

All of them ended up sleeping on the ground.


	26. Chapter 26: Hope

Chapter Twenty Six: Hope

* * *

><p>Cloud woke up with his face in the snow. He slowly lifted his head up and looked around to see if everyone was still together, or even better, alive.<p>

"Ugh..." Cloud groaned as he slowly picked himself off the ground. "I guess we're still in one piece. Everyone all right?"

"I hate this so much!" Yuffie shouted. She was rubbing her arms and shivering.

"Yuffie's okay." Cloud examined the rest of the group.

"Who's bright idea made us go down that hill?" Barret stood up and shook off the snow that was on him.

"That damn brat." Cid stood up and pulled out a cigarette. He examined it before going wide eyed. "SHIT! My smokes are wet! Damn it all to Hell!"

"Hey! At least I got us all the stuff to go down the hill with!"

"I think I have snow in my ears," Nanaki said as he shook his head off.

"Why did I have to wear a skirt in the snow?" Tifa shivered and rubbed her arms.

"Well, it could be worse," Aerith said as she brushed the remaining snow off of her dress.

"Oy, anyone seen my Mog?" Cait Sith said as he popped out of a small snow pile. "Oh wait, here it is!" He quickly hopped onto his Mog and used its arm to salute. Cid glared at Cait Sith.

"Lucky bastard, doesn't have to feel the freezing cold or loss of his smokes," Cid mumbled as he stomped back and forth through the snow, kicking it up with each step.

"Cid! You're getting snow all over me!" Yuffie shouted as she picked up more snow and threw it and Cid.

"Why you little-" Cid began to walk towards her but was held back by Barret.

"Not right now man. We need to save out energy for the hike," Barret said. Cid just looked at Barret before mumbling to him self and walking away.

"We should starting moving before night fall," Vincent said, leaning against a tree. Clouded nodded his head and pulled out a map he received from the Icicle Inn.

"Now, where are we..." Cloud examined the map, trying to find their exact location. "I think we should just start moving forward. All of us kept to the left when we were going down hill so I think I have a pretty good idea as to where we are." Cloud folded the map back up and put it away. "Let's go." Cloud started walking forward.

"Wait! Let me warm up first!" Yuffie shouted as she frantically rubber her arms together, stopping to breath into them every few seconds.

"If you start walking you'll warm up faster," Aerith said cheerfully.

"I hate this damn snow," Barret mumbled as he started walking.

"Quit your damn complainin'; you don't have to deal with withdrawals over here." Cid mumbled as he walked by Barret.

The group walked through the snow covered fields. The light snowfall rapidly changed to a harsh blizzard. It wasn't to long before the snow was knee deep.

Yuffie's steps were slowing down by the second. Soon she stopped moving all together.

"Yuffie, you need to keep moving!" Aerith shouted to her. There was no response from her. Yuffie fell to her knees. Then directly into the snow.

"Guys! Yuffie is down!" Aerith shouted as everyone stopped and gathered around Yuffie.

"Shit! Just our luck!" Cid swore as he kicked more snow up.

"Will the young lass be alright?" Cait asked.

"If we fail to bring her out of this snow, she will die," Nanakie said.

"Barret, do you mind carrying Yuffie?" Cloud asked as he looked over to Barret.

"Shit man, I always gotta' carry everyone one!" Barret walked over to Yuffie and picked her up. He placed her on his back. "Be carryin' this whole team soon," He mumbled.

"We need to keep her warm. Vincent, might it be alright if we used your cloak on Yuffie?" Aerith asked as she held out her arms. Vincent nodded as he unbuckled his cloak. He draped it over Yuffie.

"Damn, this thing is warmer then I expected! Heavier too!" Barret said as he readjusted Yuffie and the cloak on his back.

"Cloud! We need to stop somewhere! We're all going to end up on the ground if we don't find shelter!" Tifa shouted.

Cloud nodded his head. They couldn't last much longer in the snow.

"Damn snow. Damn smokes gettin' wet, damn it all." Cid mumbled as he plowed through the snow.

"Tifa is right. We won't be able to stand these conditions much longer. The sun is already setting." Nanaki said as he ran next to Cloud.

"I know, but I can't find any shelter. Our tents are useless in these conditions" Cloud was starting to get worried. But he couldn't show it to the group, he needed to stay calm and figure something out.

"Tell me again why we can't just use a fire materia to warm us up?" Barret asked.

"It takes to much energy out of us. In the long run we'll just freeze faster," Aerith said with her teeth chattering.

"Look! I think I see a house up ahead!" Cait shouted as he pointed to a small black square in the distance.

"Come on! Let's head to it!" Cloud waved everyone forward and started to run through he snow. The black shape grew larger and clearer as they came closer. When they finally reached it, Cloud immediately opened the door. Cloud could feel the warmth of the room as soon as he walked in.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Cloud shouted as everyone entered the building.

"Ya know, people used to knock before entering a house." Everyone turned to see the stranger walking into the main room.

"We are so sorry for barging in, but we need help. One of our friends is horribly ill and we aren't properly prepared," Aerith pleaded with the man who stood before them.

The man nodded his head. "Well, that's why I'm here. The name's Holzoff. I've been living here for twenty years now. If you are planning to head north you better listen to my story." Holzoff lead everyone to a separate room. It was filled with mountain climbing equipment, snow gear, rations and much more.

Holzoff lead them through that room and into what seemed to be a living room.

"Put her down here." Holzoff pointed to the couch. Barret nodded his head and put Yuffie down onto the couch. Holzoff nodded his head and left the room once he saw that Yuffie was being taken care of.

"Can we trust this guy?" Barret whispered to Cloud.

"What choice do we have? Besides, I think he should be more worried about trusting a group of armed people barging into his house then us trusting him." Cloud whispered back. Holzoff came back into the room carrying blankets.

"Here, put this on her. We just need to warm up. Now everyone go on ahead and make yourselves comfortable," Holzoff said as he placed the blankets onto Yuffie.

"No offense, but we really don't have time to listen to a story. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." Cloud said.

"Now, just keep your pants on. It's this kind of rushing that's going to get all of you killed out there. Now, just listen to my story. It's gonna help you to know how to get to the top of the mountain. Besides, this little lady ain't going nowhere in her condition. You have a little while before you can leave." Cloud reluctantly took Holzoff's advice and found a spot on the floor next to Aerith. Everyone tried to find a place to sit in the cramped room.

"Now then, have any of you heard about those who have challenged the cliff?" Holzoff asked as he looked across the room at everyone.

"Yeah." Cloud answered before anyone else could. Holzoff stared at Cloud for a bit before nodding his head.

"Alright, well the first time Yamski and I tried to climb the cliff was thirty years ago. But, we weren't prepared for it. We expected the temperature to be low but..." Holzoff went silent for a bit. He stared at the floor before continuing his story. "On that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind. The cold air lowers your body temperature. Kinda like what happened to your friend there, only much worse. Yamski was below me. He cut his own rope. I didn't even notice..." Holzoff trailed off again.

"I'm so sorry that happened." Aerith folded her hands over her chest.

"Thank you miss. Ever since then, I've settled here... continuing to challenge and providing warning and shelter to my fellow climbers. If you're going to climb the cliff, there're two precautions you'll need to take. First, check your route. It's hard to find because of all the snow. Second, once you get to a ledge, make sure to warm yourselves up. Rub your arms, do jumping jacks, play patty cake, what ever it takes to keep warm. Do you all understand?" Holzoff scanned the room again. Everybody nodded their heads.

"Good. Now, you must've used a lot of energy getting up here. Better get some rest before you head out. You'll need your energy. I'll get you some warm dry clothes to take with you and some equipment. There;s an extra room here that you're more than welcome to use," Holzoff said as he walked towards the door.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Tifa said as everyone stood up.

"Don't mention it. I've made it my job to help others."Holzoff nodded his head as everyone walked by him into the extra room.

Everyone slept either on beds or in sleeping bags through out the night. Everyone was up early the next morning. Cloud walked into the room Yuffie was in to check on her. She was sitting on the couch eating a bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Ah, that was the best! Hits the spot after a near death experience! But nothing can stop the great Yuffie!" Yuffie jumped off the couch and put her hands to her hips and tossed her head up as she spoke.

"Good. We'll be leaving as soon as possible." Cloud said before walking out of the room. Cloud walked by the front door and saw Cid standing there, holding a cigaret.

"Come on baby, you've had all night to dry. Don't let me down now," He pleaded with his cigarette.

"Cid?" Cloud walked up to him with an eyebrow cocked.

"Spiky, I haven't had a smoke in twenty hours, thirty six minutes and forty seconds now. I have the shakes like a bitch and the temper of a wild Chocobo with a cork up its ass. So, unless you want your head torn off, I suggest you shut the Hell up and let me smoke," Cid lit his cigarette and quickly put it in his mouth. He inhaled deeply and let the smoke flow slowly out of his mouth. "Now that's the shit right there. Just give me a moment with my baby, Spikey." Cloud shrugged and continued walking.

He went through the house checking on everyone. Some were putting on the snow gear that Holzoff had left out for them and others were eating breakfast. Cloud grabbed a couple of slices of toast before speaking with everyone.

"Okay, we'll be leaving in five. So hurry up and finish eating and putting your gear on." Cloud nodded his head before going to put his snow gear on. When he finished putting on his gear he met up with everyone. The group was waiting for him. They had packs for climbing and plenty of warm clothes.

"Vincent, where's your gear?" Cait asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Vincent replied. Cait looked over himself before laughing.

"You got me there lad. But I don't really need it. I can't freeze and my Mog is a lot better climber than you would think." Cait put his hands to his hips to make himself look brave,

"Same goes for me," Vincent said.

"I hate to ask this, but who is going to be carrying me up the cliff?" Nanaki asked. Once again, everyone looked to Barret.

"Aw damn it. Fine, I will." Barret sighed.

"Speaking of gear, has anyone seen Holzoff?" Tifa asked.

"No, I just saw all this stuff laid out for us," Nanaki said.

"Well, we should move. We don't know how much time we have left before Meteor is summoned." Cloud started making his way yo the front door.

"Hold on a sec. I want to speak with you." Cloud turned around to see Holzoff looking at him. Cloud pointed to himself. "That's right, you."

Cloud looked at the rest of the group.

"We'll meet you out there." Barret said as he walked out the door. Everyone else followed him out. Cloud turned around to face Holzoff.

"Yeah?" Cloud asked. He didn't want to be here any longer than he had to be. This was just wasting his time now.

"Look, I don't know why you're wanting to climb the cliff and I don't want to know why. But it's obvious to me that you're this group's leader. And let me tell you, you better start preparing better and slowing things down a bit. Otherwise you're going to get someone killed. Stop being so damn arrogant and get it together. These people are depending on you." Holzoff looked Cloud straight in the eyes as he spoke.

Cloud raised his hand, about to object to what he was saying but suddenly the image of Boto shooting him self in the head flashed into his mind. Could Boto have lived if he had prepared the group better? If he had prepared him self better? Cloud slowly put his head down and nodded.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders. Use it. I don't want to hear about you or anyone else in your group dying." Holzoff nodded his head. Cloud turned around and walked out the door.

When Cloud walked outside Barret was the first person to speak to him.

"You know, I've been thinkin'," Barret said, still rubbing his arms, even though he hand snow gear on.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"Seein' a place like this, makes you realize how awesome nature is." Barret was speaking through chattering teeth. "But, if anyone ever told me to live out here I would tell them... you know. I tell you one thing though, if I did have to live here I'd change things around 'n' make it better. I guess the total opposite of this would be Midgar. When you think of it that way, Shinra don't seem so bad." Barret stop to think about what he had just said. "Urghhhhhhh! What the Hell am I sayin'!? The Shinra, not bad!?"

"The cold is getting to all of us." Aerith said.

"Yeah, you're right. It's just the cold. Messin' with my mind," Barret reassured himself.

"Okay, everyone ready to go?" Cloud asked as he walked to the front of the group. He turned around and looked back at everyone.

"Ready as we'll ever be!" Cait said cheerfully. Cloud nodded his head and started walking forward. Everyone else followed.

When they reached the cliff, Cloud pulled out the rope and spikes that were given to him. He would be the first one to secure the rope while everyone else would climb up after him. Them he would climb a few yards and drive a spike in and tie the rope around it. Everyone else would follow him. Whenever he reached a ledge he would stop and warm himself up. The others did the same. Thanks to everyone having warmer clothes, the snow was much more bearable.

The group had to go through various caves as they climbed the cliff. They reached the last cave as they neared the top.

"You think we're almost there?" Barret asked as they walked into the cave.

"I don't know. It all depends on-" Suddenly a body came flying at them.

"Whoa! What's that!?" Yuffie shouted. Everyone got ready to fight.

"It looks like one of those hooded people from before," Aerith said, staff in hand. Suddenly the cave started to shake.

"What's going on!?" Cait shouted. From the other end of the cave a two headed dragon came charging at them.

"Everyone! Pull back! This place is too narrow for all of us to fight it!" Cloud shouted as he waved for everyone to run back.

"Cloud, we can only run so far! We need to at least stop it from movin' forward!" Barret shouted as he ran beside Cloud.

"I'll take care of this!" Aerith shouted as she spun around and focused on her ice materia.

"Quick! Barret! Vincent! Cover her!" Cloud shouted. Barret and Vincent turned around and started firing their guns at the dragon. The bullets penetrated the dragon but not deep enough to cause it to stop.

"Any time now Aerith!" Barret shouted.

"Now!" Aerith shouted as she held out her right hand. Her ice materia glowed incredibly bright. It was practically white. A thick layer of ice formed around the dragons lower half of its body, causing it to stick to the ground. The dragon used its right head to breath fire onto the ice to try and melt it while the other head roared with anger.

"H-How'd you do that Aerith?" Barret asked as he watched in aw at her power.

"I-I don't know." Aerith looked at her materia. It looked the same as it always had.

"We need to find a way to stop the dragon from melting the ice!" Cloud shouted.

"I've got this." Vincent knelt down on one knee and put his gauntlet to his face. A black mass completely covered him. When the black mass disappeared, Vincent's body was larger. He wore a white mask and held a chainsaw in his right hand. Draped over him was a tattered red tunic. Vincent's breath was a white mist. Everything around them suddenly seemed to close in on them.

Cloud was feeling fear. He didn't know why but he was just afraid. He tightened the grip on his sword.

"What's going on?" Yuffie asked as she sank down to her knees.

"I'm feeling something uneasy in the air. It's making my fur stand on end," Nanaki said as he tensed up. Even the dragon seemed to be uneasy.

Vincent revved his chainsaw and charged at the dragon. The dragon's right head inhaled and blew what seemed to be cold fire at him. It had little effect on Vincent. The cold fire brushed past him and formed ice and the ground and walls around him. The dragon kept trying to force Vincent back with its breath. Vincent held out the chainsaw and jumped into the air. As he came down he cut off the dragon's right head. Vincent landed on the ground and jumped back. The black mass formed around his body once more. It left as quickly as it came. Vincent was now back to his old self. It seemed as though the air itself became lighter. Cloud relaxed his grip on his sword.

"That is as much as I can do for now. My body needs rest," Vincent said before crouching.

"Okay, we need to cut off the other head! Barret, continue to draw its attention to you by firing at its head. Yuffie, I want you to throw your giant shuriken when you see an opening. Aim for the softest part on its neck!" Cloud ordered, not wanting to waste any time in taking it down.

"You got it, Spikey!" Barret started shooting at its head. The bullets seemed to cause it more damage now that its other head was missing.

"You can count on me!" Yuffie shouted. She readied her weapon, waiting for the perfect chance to take the dragon down.

The dragons head kept flailing from side to side as it tried to avoid Barrett's bullets.

"Now!" Yuffie shouted as she threw he weapon. The dragon lifted its head up high, exposing its neck. When it did so, the shuriken cut right though its neck. The head fell to the ground.

"Yahoo! Score one for Yuffie! Yuffie shouted as she twirled around.

"Well what do you know, the little shitter can do something," Cid said as he lit another cigarette with his previous one.

"Shut up you old fart! At least I did something!" Yuffie shouted as she stomped her foot on the ground.

"Aeris." Cloud pointed over to Vincent.

"I'm on it." Aerith quickly ran over to Vincent and placed her hand on his back. "You were very brave in taking on the dragon alone Mr. Valentine." Aerith focused on her cure materia. Once again, it started to glow with a bright white light. The materia sent a green pulse through Vincent's body. His head shot up and he quickly stood up.

"That was... incredible." Vincent looked at his hands and flexed them.

"Aerith, how much energy did you put into your materia?" Nanaki asked.

"The normal amount I usually put in." Aerith looked at her materia again. Nothing was different about it. "Could it be because I've lost..." Aerith whispered to her self as she stared at her materia.

"We'll worry about that later. Come on, we're almost to the top." Cloud continued to walk forward. Aerith nodded her head and followed along with everybody else.

They only had a little bit more to climb. The wind had died down significantly and the air was much warmer. There was no need for the winter clothing. Everyone changed back into their normal clothes and continued to climb the cliff.

When they reached the top the whole group stopped and stared at what lay before them. In the center of the crater was a giant fountain of the life stream, gushing out from the earth. Around were powerful gusts of wind, constantly swirling around the fountain

"An old crater..." Cloud said as he examined his surroundings. "Something fell out of the sky and crashed here. Leaving a scar on the planet."

"The life stream is trying to heal the planet. After so many years it is still healing. Just how powerful was Jenova?" Nanaki asked and he stared at the center of the crater.

"Sephiroth took that energy and now he's going to use it to summon Meteor. Next time, the wound won't be so small." Cloud shuddered at just the mere thought of it.

"Well we better kick his ass an' make sure that it don't happen." Barret said as he walked up next to Cloud. Cloud nodded his head.

"Right, let's go." Cloud began to walk towards the center of the crater with the rest of AVALANCHE behind him. As they moved down the hill they saw more of the black hooded people. They were willingly walking over the edge of the path.

"Why are they doing that!?" Aerith gasped. Her eyes grew wide in horror as they continued to fall to their death. The team watched in silence.

"I couldn't tell you," Cloud said as he focused on the crater.

"Looks like it's time to settle things with Sephiroth," Tifa said to Cloud as they walked on. "I, too, have lost many things because of him." Tifa clenched her fist. "Let's go!" Cloud nodded his head. He wasn't going to screw up again.

The closer they came to the center the more the land broke apart. The black hooded people were no longer just falling over dead. They were jumping over the edges.

"What is wrong with these people!" Yuffie shouted. Nobody could really answer.

"Look, it's a summon materia." Nanaki pointed out. Cloud picked it up and examined it.

"What summon do you think it is?" Tifa asked.

"I dunno, I would have to summon it before I could fully tell." Cloud put it into his pack and continued moving forward.

Nanaki stopped and held his head up. "Wait, everyone, do you hear that?" Everyone stopped and listened.

"Is that... an engine?" Cid said as he looked up at the sky.

"No, it can't be!" Cait shouted.

"That's...!" An air ship flew right above their heads and into the swirling chaos that was before them.

"Those little Shinra sons 'o' bitches think they can take my airship and do what ever they want with it! You won't get away with this!" Cid shouted as he flipped off the air ship. It was already out of sight.

"Come on! We don't have much time left!" Cloud shouted to the group. They took off running as fast as they could.

When they neared the center of the crater, a huge gust of wind blew in front of them.

"Whoa!" Cloud shouted as he came to an abrupt halt.

"If we try to cross that now, it will blow us off," Tifa said as she walked up next to Cloud. "We need to cross when the wind is calm."

Cloud nodded his head and thought for a moment. "Okay, we go across in threes. First group will be Barret, Cait Sith and Cid. Second will be Tifa, Yuffie and Nanaki. The last group will be Vincent, Aerith and myself. Everyone got that?" All of them nodded their heads.

As soon as the wind died down the first group crossed. Shortly after it picked back up again. When the wind died down, the second group crossed. Once it died down again, the third group crossed.

When everyone was on the other side, they saw lines of the black hooded people. One by one, they walked over the edge of the cliff.

"No! Don't!" Aerith shouted. None of them listened to her. They just kept walking off the edges.

"There's nothing we can do Aerith. We need to keep moving," Cloud said. Aerith nodded and moved on. The path grew narrower as they moved along.

They reached another wall of wind. Only this one had a wave of the life stream that would course through it every few seconds.

"Same plan as before," Cloud said. All of them passed through in the same groups.

When they reached the other side they saw three figures.

"Spehiroth." Cloud clenched his fist in anger and chased after him. When he was close enough to him Sephiroth spoke.

"This is the end... for all of you." Sephiroth pulled out his sword and slashed through the two hooded people standing next to him.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted. "This is the end!" Sephiroth didn't even bother to turn around to face Cloud.

"You're right. This is the end of this body's usefulness." Sephiroth was suddenly engulfed in a black light and disappear.

"He disappeared!?" Cloud shouted. Everyone drew their weapons, looking to see if Sephiroth would reappear.

Cloud was scanning all over the place for him when suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.

'Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our master.

"Our?" Cloud asked quietly to himself.

'Those who carry Jenova's cells...'

"Master!?" he said to himself again.

'Of course... Sephiroth. Heh heh heh'

Sephiroth suddenly flew at Cloud from nowhere. Cloud was barely able to doge his attack. Both Cloud and Sephiroth faced each other. Everyone's weapons were drawn.

Suddenly, Sephiroth started to transform into a huge monster.

"Everyone! Don't let it finish forming! Attack now!" Cloud shouted as he charged in, sword ready to swing. Cloud dug his sword into the beast and jumped back. Tifa and Nanaki charged in together. Nanaki bit into the beast while Tifa used him as a boost to lift to jump higher and hit the beast in the face.

"What is that thing?" Barret shouted as he shot at it from a distance with Vincent.

"It looks like another part of Jenova!" Aerith shouted. She was focusing on her lightning materia.

"Whatever the Hell it is, I'm getting' in on this action!" Cid shouted as he charged in with his spear. He used his spear as a pull volt to get higher into the air and come crashing down on top of the Jenova. It let out a scream of pain as he drove his pear deep into it. It used one of its tentacles to knock Cid off.

"I got'cha!" Cait shouted as he caught Cid.

"Damn! Lost my spear!" Cid shouted.

Jenova shot a red light, hitting Nanaki. It caused him to go flying back and almost over the edge.

Cait Sith used his megaphone to distort Jenova. It stalled for a little bit, giving Aerith enough time to use her lighting materia on it. Aerith used Cid's spear as a conductor, in order to accurately hit Jenova. It caused Cid's spear to shatter.

It let out a roar of pain as the lightning coursed through its body. It went limp. Lightning would surge through it every time it tried to move.

"Now's our chance!" Cloud shouted. He planted his sword into the ground and reached into his pocket. "I hope these work." Cloud pulled the three blue grenades Boto used to have. He activated the first one and threw it at Jenova. He did the same for the other two. Each grenade landed on the center of her. There were three blue explosions, each one causing more damage to Jenova. When the last one went off, Jenova feel backwards and slowly faded away. The only thing that was left was the Black Materia. Everyone gather around it.

"Jenova's Cells..." Cloud said as he knelt down. "Hmmm, so that's what this was about. The Jenova Reunion."

Not Sephiroth!? You mean all this time it wasn't Sephiroth we've been after?" Tifa exclaimed. Cloud shook his head.

"I'll explain later. Right now, the only thing I'm thinking about is beating Sephiroth." Cloud looked over to Tifa and nodded his head.

"But Sephiroth is..." Tifa folded her arms and placed her left hand on her face.

"He's here. The real Sephiroth is just beyond here. It's both incredibly wicked and cruel. But it's releasing a powerfully strong will from deep within the planet's wound." Cloud picked up the Black Materia. "I'm not going to let this thing go any further. I need to trust one of you to hold this for me," Cloud said as he turned around and looked back at the group.

"I'll hold it lad!" Cait said, raising his paw into the air.

"You sure you can handle it?" Cloud asked as he walked up to him.

"No problem! You can count on me!" Cait saluted Cloud. Cloud nodded his head as he handed the Black Materia to him.

"Don't give that to anyone," Cloud said before turning around and walking back to the front of the group. "Aerith, Tifa, I want you two with me. Everyone else stay here."

Aerith and Tifa nodded their heads and walked up next to Cloud.

"Good luck in there," Nanaki said as they walked away.

The three were engulfed by a bright light as they walked closer to the center of the crater.

"What is this? What happened?" Tifa asked, sounding worried.

"Calm down Tifa. Sephiroth is near. Anything could happen," Cloud said. When the light faded away, the three were standing at the entrance to Nibelhim.

"Nibelhim..." Tifa said while she examined her old town.

"Why would Sephiroth bring us here?" Aerith said as she looked over to Cloud.

"He just wants to trick us. Don't fall for anything you see." Cloud said confidently.

"Yeah, you're right... "Tifa turned around and gasped. "Look!" She pointed behind Cloud. Cloud and Aeris turned around to see Sephiroth walking up to them. He stopped and turned around, waving someone forward.

"All right, let's go," He said before moving on. Two Shinra infantry men followed him along with another SOLDIER. One had spiky black hair and a huge sword on his back.

Aeris gasped. "It can't be..."

"Stop... Sephiroth." Tifa sounded desperate. Cloud shook his head.

"This is so stupid." Cloud was starting to get annoyed by Sephiroth's game. Suddenly, Sephiroth started laughing. A white light flashed before them and the Shinra soldiers were gone.

"Just ignore them. It's all a bunch of illusions. Now come on, we have a job to do." Cloud said before going into Nibelhim. They were suddenly engulfed by another bright light. "What next?" Cloud asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Stop it already!" Tifa yelled.

"But, it can't be," Aerith said quietly. When the light faded, they were standing in the middle of a burning Nibelhim.

"This is what actually happened five years ago," Cloud said as he watched the entrance to the Shinra mansion. "But, it's probably not going to me be that comes out of the Shinra mansion. He's going to show us another stupid illusion." Cloud folded his arms and waited. As if it were on cue, the black haired SOLDIER came running out of the mansion.

"Zack!" Aerith shouted out as he ran past her and into the town.

"Aerith, I don't know who that is, but it's just a trick by Sephiroth. Don't fall for it. You have my back on this right, Tifa?" Cloud looked over to Tifa. She was silent.

"Hey it's you! You're still sane right?" It was Tifa's old teacher, Zangan speaking now. Zack spoke, but no sound came from him. He ran to the center of town and watched the burning buildings. He shook his head.

"You check that house! I'll check this one!" Zangan said before running into a burning house.

"Cloud, don't watch this. Just look away," Tifa said worriedly.

"Tifa, what's wrong? I know this is all fake." Suddenly they were engulfed by another bright light. They were now standing between two buildings. Both of their exits were cut off by fire.

"Sephiroth! I know you're listening! I know what you want to say! That I wasn't in Nibelhim five years ago. That's it, isn't it?" Cloud shook his head. Suddenly Sephiroth appeared before them.

"I see you finally understand." Sephiroth said.

"What you are trying to say is that you are trying to confuse me, right?" Cloud said, frustrated at Sephiroth now. "But even making me see those things won't affect me. I remember it all. The heat of the fire... the pain in my body... and in my heart!"

Sephiroth shook his head as he spoke. "Oh, is that so? You are just a puppet. You have no heart. You can't feel any pain. How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being? What I have shown you is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion."

Cloud walked up to Sephiroth slowly.

"Do you understand?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud shook his head.

"I don't want to understand. But, I want to ask you one thing. Why... why are you doing this?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth suddenly appeared between Tifa and Aerith. Both of them jumped back, ready to fight.

Sephiroth laughed maliciously. "I want to take you back to your real self. The one who gave me the Black Materia that day. Who would have ever though that a failed experiment would prove so useful. Hojo would die if he knew." Sephiroth laughed at the thought.

"Hojo!? What does he have to do with me!?" Cloud shouted. Before Cloud could continue, he held up one finger and wagged it.

"Five years ago you were constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelhim was burnt. A puppet made up of Vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge and the power of mako. An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number. That is your reality." Sephiroth stared into Cloud's eyes. He looked like he was dead serious. Cloud just shook his head. He looked ever to Aeris. She was silent. He looked over to Tifa.

"Cloud, don't listen to him." Tifa shook her head. "Close your ears! Close your eyes!"

"What's wrong, Tifa? I'm not affected by it." Cloud said reassuringly. I wasn't paying attention to him."

"All that talk of Hojo constructing you is a lie. Don't we have all our memories together? Being kids, starlight nights..." Tifa pleaded with Cloud. Cloud was just taken back by Tifa. He didn't understand why she kept saying all of this.

Sephiroth laughed. "Tifa, why are you so worried and scared by those words? And why is Aerith so silent? Maybe it was a good thing to keep you alive." Cloud looked back at both Tifa and Aerith. Both of them looked pale and worried.

"Shall I show everyone here what's in your heart?" Sephiroth asked. Both Aerith and Tifa looked away from Sephiroth.

"Both of you look like you're not feeling well." Sephiroth vanished after he said that.

"Tifa... Aeris... what is he talking about? Is there something you both know that I don't? Cloud asked, looking to and from both of them. Both of them stayed silent.

"Why are you so scared? Don't worry about me. I'm all right. No matter how confused I am I will never believe a word Sephiroth says." Cloud lowered his head. "It's true that sometimes I can't figure out who I am. There's a lot of things muddled up in my memories. But, Tifa... but you said, 'Long time no see, Cloud' Right? Those words will always support me. I am the one you grew up with. I'm Cloud of Nibelhim. No matter how much I lose faith in myself, that is the truth." Cloud raised his head back up. "That's why the both of you shouldn't be so scared. No matter what anyone else says to me, it's your attitude that counts." Cloud was much more confident in his voice now.

Tifa shook her head. "No, that's not true Cloud..."

Cloud shook his head. "What's not? Aren't I the same Cloud you grew up with?"

"That's not what I mean... I don't know how to say it... Cloud, I need some time. Just give me a little time." Tifa held her hands to her face. Suddenly Sephiroth appeared at the other side of the fire.

"Cloud, don't blame Tifa. The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova. Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you. A boy named Cloud might have just been a part of them. Even Aerith, she knew the man you saw walking around before. Jenova could have easily formed you with her memories of him. There is so much more to mother that I still don't understand. Like how your friend Boto was here. But, he is gone now." Sephiroth vanished again.

Both Aerith and Tifa were silent.

"Aerith, you knew that man?" Cloud asked. Aerith couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Yes, his name is Zack. I've told you about him before." Aerith's voice was silent. Cloud was still able to hear her.

"Yeah, but what does-" Suddenly the memory of he and Aerith on the gondola in the Gold Saucer appeared into his mind.

'I want to know the real you.' Aerith's words played over and over again in Cloud's mind.

"The real me..." He said out loud to him self.

"Cloud, don't think!" Tifa pleaded. Sephiroth appeared before them again.

"Think, Cloud! Cloud? Oh excuse me, you never had a name," Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face.

"No, this is just... a lie." Cloud said slowly as he looked down at his hands.

"You still don't understand" Well then, do you remember the picture that we took before we headed for Mt. Nibel?" Sephiroth looked over to Tifa. "Tifa, you remember, right? But there is no way he would know." Sephiroth pointed to Cloud. "Now... what happened to that picture?" Sephiroth walked over to a man's body that was laying next to a burning building. He knelt down and dug into the pockets of the man and pulled something out. "Is this it?" He asked as he held it into the air. "Do you want to see it? It turned out pretty good." Sephiroth held the picture out to Cloud.

"Cloud... don't..." Tifa pleaded. Aerith remained silent. Cloud looked at the picture in Sephiroth's hand. He had a smirk on his face as he held the picture out to Cloud. Cloud reached his hand out and snatched it from Sephiroth's hand. He looked down at the picture and saw Tifa, Sephiroth, and the man named Zack in the picture.

"I... I'm not in this picture... It's Zack." Cloud said slowly. He began to doubt his past. When he became a SOLDIER, how he joined it, everything. Cloud fell to his knees.

"No, why... why is that man... Zack in this picture." Cloud looked over at Aerith.

"Because, he really did come here. It... it all makes sense. He told me he was going on a mission to Nibelhim before he left..." Aerith trailed off.

"Aerith! Don't!" Tifa pleaded.

"Who... who am I..." Cloud trailed off. Another light flashed. They were now in the center of the crater.

* * *

><p>Cait Sith examined the Black Materia.<p>

"I wonder how Cloud and the others are?" Nanaki wondered out loud.

"I'm sure they're fine. Cloud's tough after all, right?" Cait asked. Nobody responded. "Oh come on, someone has to agree with me." Cait looked away from the materia and saw that everybody was gone.

"Guys!? Where'd you all go!?" Cait shouted as he began to frantically look around for them.

"Cait Sith, you're here! I'm so glad!" Cait spun around to find Tifa standing behind him.

"Tifa! Where is everybody!? What are you doing here!?" Cait shouted in surprise.

"There's no time to explain! Everyone has already gone on ahead! Cloud's in trouble!" Tifa shouted.

"He is! Well don't worry Tifa! I'll go back him up! Besides, Boto said we would all win in the end!" Cait Sith said as he saluted Tifa.

"Boto said that?" Tifa asked.

"Never mind, we have to go!" Cait said before taking off to go help Cloud. When Cait Sith was out of sight Tifa smiled.

"And don't forget" Suddenly Tifa turned into Sephiroth. "The Black Materia." Sephiroth vanished and everyone else suddenly appeared laying down on the ground.

"Aw shit, my head. What happened?" Cid said as he picked himself up.

"Cait Sith! He's gone!" Yuffie shouted.

"What!? Where do you think they went!?" Barret shouted as he jumped to his feet.

"I don't know, but chances are he went into..." Nanaki looked at the path leading to the center of the crater.

"We've got to go after him!" Barret shouted.

"How far ahead do you think he is?" Yuffie asked.

"No clue. We don't have much time though," Vincent said as he picked him self up off the ground.

"Then let's hurry!" Barret shouted as he chased after Cait Sith.

* * *

><p>Cait Sith was going down the path as fast as he could. He saw the airship from earlier not too far ahead.<p>

"I need to go faster! Cloud is counting on me!" Cait's main focus was the center of the crater. He ran through an opening, leading to where Cloud was.

"Cloud! I'm here!" Cait shouted as soon as he saw Cloud. Something was different about him though. Cloud slowly walked up to Cait.

"Thank you Cait. Where's the Black Materia?" Cloud sounded really monotonous. It seemed as if his soul had left him.

"I've got it right here still!" Cait held the Black Materia into the air.

"I'll take it from here... give me the Black Materia." Cloud stretched out his hand to take the Black Materia.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Cait asked as he held out his paw. Cloud nodded his head. "Well, here ya go then. I think it's in better hands with you." Cloud took the Black Materia.

"Thanks. Leave the rest to me." Cloud said before walking back. At that moment Cait noticed Aerith and Tifa along with Rufus Shinra, Hojo and Scarlet.

"Wait, Cloud, where's everyone else at? I thought you needed help?" Cait looked around frantically. It looked like Tifa and Aeris were trying to speak but they couldn't say anything. Hojo was just laughing to himself as Rufus and Scarlet watched. Cait looked back to Cloud. The only thing Cloud could say was:

"Sorry." Cloud repeated it over and over again. Suddenly Cloud took off into the air. Before he knew it, Cloud was gone.

"Wait, what!?" Cait asked.

"Cloud no!" Aerith shouted. She was looking up. Everyone focused their attention on what was above them. Cloud was standing before what seemed to be a crystallized Sephiroth. He stuck the Black Materia into the crystal. Suddenly everything started to shake violently. Everything was falling apart.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted

"This is perfect! My experiment is going as planned!" Hojo laughed.

"We need to get out of here! I want all of you to explain to me what's going on in the airship!" Rufus shouted.

"What have I done!?" Cait shouted. He didn't have time to stand there and sulk. He needed to leave. Cait followed Rufus and the others back to his airship. On the way he saw Barret and everyone else running towards them.

"What the Hell is going on!?" Barret shouted.

"Get to the airship! Now!" Rufus shouted as he pointed to it. Barret hesitated at first, but when he saw how bad everything was turning, he turned around and boarded the airship.

Once they were in the air, a bright light shout out of the center of the crater. Everyone watched as a huge creature, WEAPON, flew out of it. Four others flew out as well. The WEAPON's movement cause the whole airship to shake. Suddenly, Tifa fell to the floor of the air ship, passed out.

"Tifa! Barret ran over to her when suddenly, he was tackled to the ground by Shinra's infantry men.

"I want all of them apprehended. They are still wanted terrorists!" Rufus ordered.

"What!?" Barret shouted as he tried to wrestle the soldiers off of him. The quickly eject4d the clip that was in his gun and handcuffed him.

"Shit!" Cid shouted as he tried to fight the guards off of him. They quickly shot him with tranquilizer darts. Cid fell to his knees and hit the floor hard. Everyone was being disarmed and handcuffed.

"Cait Sith, report to Rufus," Hojo said as he walked past him. Cait lowered his head and slowly walked away.

All except for two were left. Vincent and Yuffie had their backs to the railing. In front of them were soldiers and the one man Vincent hated more than anyone. Hojo. "You look familiar. Have I seen you before?" Hojo said as he took a step closer. Vincent said nothing. He only glared.

"Vincent! We need to get out of here!" Yuffie shouted as she stood next to Vincent, both of them with their weapons in hand.

"Yuffie, grab on to me!" Vincent shouted as he slowly backed up to the railing of the airship. Yuffie wrapped her arms around Vincent's waist and before she knew it, they were both falling over the edge of the air ship and into the sea of trees below.

"I'll have my revenge on you, Hojo." Vincent growled as a black mass formed around him and Yuffie. The airship was flying at high speeds away from them.

* * *

><p>As the air ship flew over the trees, it passed over the ancient ruins and Boto's grave site. Next to his grave, in the water, bubbles slowly started to surface. At first it was just a few. More and more of them started to rise when suddenly, a man surfaced from the water. He took a deep breath of air and started coughing. He was out of the deep end of the water, so he crawled up onto land.<p>

"Oh man, I that I wasn't going to make it," the man said as he rolled over onto his back. He looked up at the sky as the sun began to rise. He quickly sat up and patted his back.

"Aw man, she couldn't have given me my sword? Oh well, I'll just have to make due with what I have." The man stood up and ran his fingers through his spiky black hair.

"Now, where is he... Ah ha! There he is!" the man shouted as he saw bubbles start to surface from the water once more. This time, another man came to the top of the water. He too took a deep breath of air and began to cough.

"Why the Hell is that water so deep!?" the man in the water shouted.

"What, tired already?" The man with the spiky hair asked.

"Yeah, I am. After all that crap we just went through, you think Minerva would have put us in a better spot!" The man in the water complained as he crawled to the land.

"Well, at least we're here," The spiky-haired man said.

"Zack, just shut up for a bit." The man laid on his back as Zack stood above him.

"Well, at least we're alive again. Right, Boto?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Woo! The chapter is finally up! Thanks everyone for being patient! I'm going to try and post these up faster. As in, not taking a billion years to post. Once again, please thank my beta reader. Serendipital, for taking the time to do this. She's even willing to still do this even though it's taken me so long to write it! Also, if you are wanting to know the status of this story, or any other story that I am writing, please check my profile. It will let you know where I am with writing each story. Also, if you want, you can PM about writing the next chapter for the story. When I have someone nag me about something, it really helps to have me write it quicker. Alright, that's all for now. See you in the next chapter!  
><em>


	27. Chapter 27: Liberation

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! That is** **all.**_

Chapter Twenty Seven: Liberation

I heard an annoying beeping noise in the distance.

I groaned as I rolled over in my bed. I reached my hand out and smacked my alarm clock until it stopped beeping. "I friggin hate that noise. Why don't I use a sound that I would like to wake up to?"

I slowly rose from my bed and stretched. As my mind cleared, I remembered to make sure that all of my belongings were still there.

"Let's see, phone, headphones, wallet… Good. Now I just need put my shoes on, grab my uniform and bike, and I should be good to go for work… I really need to stop talking out loud to myself." After putting on my shoes and socks on, I grabbed my uniform and held it under my right arm as I walked over to my bike. Trying to ride a bike with stuff in your hands is very difficult. Another thing I like to do is keep my bike indoors. I don't trust my baby all alone outside.

"I wonder what my dream was about... I don't remeber a thing. I really need to stop taking long naps." I grabbed my bike and walked it to the front door. "Huh, today feels... good." Takeing a deep breath, I opened the front door and walked outside with my bike. Everything fell to the floor when I looked at the sky/

It was blood red.

"W-what the Hell…" I stared at the sky, completely awestruck. My hand instantly shot into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I decided to call my brother first.

"Maybe he'll know what's going on." I held the phone up to my ear. There was no sound. "What the…" I tried to call my sister. Still no sound. I tried the rest of my family, the other contacts on my phone. I even tried calling 911. No sound came from the other end. Not even a dial tone.

I ran to my neighbor's apartment and started banging on his door.

"Hey! Is anyone there!?" I pounded on the door for a few seconds before I opened it and let myself in. The apartment was completely empty. There was no furniture, no appliances. Nothing. My breathing grew heavier as I began to shake.

"What the Hell…" I ran outside. I checked the other apartments and did the same thing. All of them were the same. They were empty. I darted across the street and checked the houses. Everything was empty. Not a single soul was to be found.

I ran down the street towards the center of town. On my way I saw that there were no cars what so ever. It was the same on the main road of town. It was completely empty. No cars, nothing in the shops, no people.

"What the Hell is going on here!?" I shouted as I stood in the middle of the road, panting from all the running. My mind swam in questions and fear.

"This is your prison," a voice said from behind me. I quickly spun around to find a tall woman, standing not too far away from me. She had long brown hair that ened at her knees and skin as pale as snow. Her bright green eyes stood out from her black dress.

"What? Who are you?" I asked.

"You do not remember? That is normal. I did not want to bring you here, but you left me with no choice." She took long, gentle strides towards me. As attractive as she was, her coming towards me didn't feel like a good thing.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by prison?" I said as I started backing away from her.

"Don't listen to her," a woman's voice echoed in my head.

"What?" I looked all around me, trying find where the voice was coming from.

"That is not important right now. What is important is that you listen to me. If you do not," The woman formed a double-bladed sword into her hand. She twirled it around in the air above her head and plunged it into the ground. Chunks of the road were sent flying into the air. Some crashed through the nearby buildings; others hit the ground, creating small craters. "your punishment will be grave."

I couldn't move. I was too terrified to. I could only gasp in horror at the raw desturtion that lay before me.

'Say nothing to her. Do not buy into to her intimidation. Help is on the way,' the woman's voice echoed in my head again. Going on instinct, I decided to listen to her. All rational thought was thrown out the window by now. I really had no other choice.

"So be it," she said. She charged directly at me, in an instant she became a blur. The only thing I could do was just close my eyes and wait for the blade to pierce me. The sting never came. Instead, there was a loud clanging noise.

"Impossible," she whispered. I slowly opened my eyes to find a man with black spiky hair standing in front of me. He was blocking her attack with a sword, stance solid.

"Looks like I'm just in time," The man forced the woman back with his sword. I quickly dove to the right, getting out of the way as fast as I could. A sharp pain went through body as I hit the grond. Trying to ignore the pain, I grit my teeth and crawled to what I hoped was a safe distance. I turned to see who had just saved my ass. My eyes widened.

"Wh-what… what the Hell is a video game character doing here!?" I shouted as I stood up.

"Video game character? I'm not a video game character! I'm Zack Fair!" Zack shouted, readying himself for another one of the woman's attacks.

"If you are here then that means she is involved." The woman glared at Zack as she readied her weapon again.

"Who's she? Speaking of which, what is this place? And who are you? Who is that guy over there?" Zack motioned his head towards me.

"That does not matter right now, what does matter is that I kill you. The sooner I have my child submit to me the better. I don't want her to interfere,"

"Whoa! This chick is your mother!? Listen, I don't know much about parenting, but I'm pretty sure this isn't how you do it! The way you put it sounds way too kinky for!" Zack shouted.

"What the Hell!?" She isn't my mother! She's too hot to be my mom!" I shouted back at Zack.

"Silence! I do not have time for this!" She charged towards Zack. He held up his sword in defense to block the blade. Her impact sent Zack flying straight down the road. She charged after him, not giving him a chance to counter attack. She twirled around him. With each twirl she placed a new cut on him. After several twirls she let his body hit the ground. Zack wasn't moving.

"Now then, onto you," the woman said as she started walking to me.

"Zack! Get up!" I shouted. My legs were shaking. I couldn't move. "ZACK!" She kept walking towards me, quickly closing in on me. Zack wasn't moving.

"You will do as I say," the woman said as she raised her sword. "You will belong to me." She swung her sword down. I couldn't run away from her. My legs were glued to the ground, forcing me to watch as the blade came down. My arms started acting on their own, as if some other being possessed my body. Then, my hands clapped onto both sides of the blade. Out of it's own will, my body jumped up and kicked her in the jaw, using her own person as leverage. After a kick from my left leg, I landed on my hands and knees.

"What just happened!? How the Hell did I do that!? I can't fight for beans!" I shouted as I stood up. Suddenly, my head starting hurting. Images of places I've never been to before started flashing through my mind. I grabbed my head and fell forward.

"It looks like she is giving you your memories back. I have less time than I thought." The woman walked over to me. "You will submit to me." She raised her sword above her head and plunged it down at me. Her blade met another blade.

"I'm not out of the fight just yet!" Zack shouted from beside me, holding his sword out to block her attack.

"Ah, you are still alive. Looks like I made a mistake in my haste to make my child submit." She jumped back away from me and Zack.

"You okay, buddy?" Zack said as he stood in front of me.

"Ugh, my head hurts… it's so hard to focus," I said as I slowly picked myself back up. "Why, why do I know that woman?"

"What do you mean you know her?" Zack asked, glancing at me.

"I… I don't know. I just remember… bits and pieces of things. Like, a reactor, a talking dog, and… her." I pointed to the woman.

"Sounds like you have one messed up life,"

"The crazy thing is, it's all from a video game, which you're apart of!" I shouted.

"There you go with the whole video game thing again. I told you I'm not-" The woman suddenly lunged at Zack. He blocked her attack. He quickly freed one of his hands from his sword and grabbed the woman's double-bladed sword and held it tight. He reared his head back and head butted her as hard as he could.

"Aw, jeez! That hurt a lot more than I thought it would." Zack pouted as he rubbed his forehead. The woman seemed to not have been affected. She quickly used her palm to strike Zack's nose, going for a kill shot. He moved his head down, causing her to strike his forehead instead.

Zack kicked in the woman's knee, causing her to kneel down. Using the small window of opportunity, he used his sword to force her back and quickly strike her torso. Green ooze seeped out of the wound.

She fell onto her back, completely defenseless. Zack raised his sword, ready to strike her again when she quickly kicked him in the crotch and shoved him back with her high heel shoe.

"GUAHHHHHHHH! WHYYYYYYYY!" Zack shouted as he rolled on his back, covering his crotch from any more damage. "That was a cheap shot! I don't care who you are! Never go for the family jewels!"

I winced a little as I watched him roll around on the floor, screaming like a little girl.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Ju-just give me a minute," Zack said as he lay on his side, holding up his index finger.

The woman slowly rose to her feet and readied her sword once again. Zack picked himself up off the ground and shakily readied his sword.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah, I didn't want to have children anyways." Zack gave me a thumbs up and a weak smile. Another sharp pain went through my head. I stumbled forward, nearly falling onto the ground.

'Rough day, huh?'

'Like I said, you're like a cockroach, Boto.'

'Tell Reno we finally found our target.'

I kept hearing voices while my vision blurred out on me. They were all from the game Final Fantasy VII. Only, they weren't pixels, they were real.

"Stay with me buddy! She's getting ready to attack!" Zack shouted. I looked up just on time to see the woman charge directly at us. I jumped to the right while Zack jumped to the left.

"So many voices." I groaned as I tried to focus.

'Awesome, good to have you aboard the WRO'

'-that he was carrying-'

"Boto! Look out!" I looked up just in time to see the woman knock me to the ground. Seconds later Zack was shoving the woman off of me.

"You've got to focus!" Zack shouted as he pulled me up.

"It's… hard to focus." I tried to push out the voices but the more I tried the more they came.

'Wait, why does it matter?'

'Look, I don't know why she was-'

'Yes, my child?'

'I know you,'

"This will go on longer than I thought if I keep fighting like this. I need to quicken this." The woman lowered her weapon.

"What's she doing?" Zack asked as he raised his.

"I…I don't know…" This time, I was focusing on the voices.

'-she's in my head-'

'Welcome to AVALANCHE Mr-'

'Why do you continue to disobey me?'

'My child,'

The woman started singing in a language that I've never heard before. To give the most accurate description of her singing, she sounded like she was singing in some sort of reversed Japanese. Her voice was almost angelic.

"What the…" Zack said as he lowered his sword. The woman slowly rose into the air. Moments later, the whole ground started shaking. A huge chunk of the earth started to rise.

'Jenova,'

'-Jenova,'

'Jenova!'

"She's Jenova!" I shouted. My mind and vision was suddenly clear. I could think straight.

"What!?" Zack shouted as he looked over at me. I didn't have enough time to respond. Jenova was hovering above a huge chunk of floating land while throwing parts of the buildings at us. I was just barely able to dodge one of the walls to the drug store.

"We need to find a way to get close to her!" Zack shouted from the opposite side of the street.

"We need to find a way to stop her from singing!" I shouted back. Suddenly, little green lights started floating around my right hand. The little green lights started forming into the shape of a cross. A bright white light shined from it.

"Punisher!" Staring at the gun, I slowly raised it into the air. Before I knew it, another wall came flying towards me. Thinking fast, I dove to the right and started firing in her general direction.

"Where did you get that gun!?" Zack shouted as he ran up to me.

"I-I don't know!" I cried out. Jenova's singing began to echo throughout the town. More chunks of the land started to rise. Some floated next to her while others added to the land she was floating above.

"The louder she is the stronger she gets!" Zack tightened his grip on his sword, as if doing so would stop her singing. Whole buildings were lifted off the ground thrown at us. It took everything we had to dodge them.

"Don't back down! Run directly at her!" I shouted. Both of us ran towards the crater that was in front of us. When we started to get closer to her, she started moving away. City Hall flew down the middle of the street, directly towards us.

"What the Hell man! How are we supposed to get close to her!?"

"Like this!" Zack ran ahead of me and straight towards the building. When he was close, he jumped up into the air and swung his sword down, cutting the building in half. He landed on the ground as the building he cut in half fell on both sides of him. He held his sword behind him, the end of the blade leaning on the ground.

"Get onto my blade!" he shouted.

"What?" I gave him a weird look.

"Just do it!" He gripped his sword tightly as he waited for me. I ran as fast as I could towards Zack. As soon as both of my feet touched the sword, he launched me up into the air.

I didn't feel like I was in the air for long. Before I knew it, I hit the ground. I landed painfully on my side. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened.

"Move!" I instinctively turned around to see what was going on. Zack landed right on top of me.

"Guahhhh! My back!"

"I told you to move!"

"What the-" I started to yell when a bright light started to shine behind Jenova.

What is that!?" Zack shouted as both of us stood up. Everything around us stopped moving. All the buildings that were flying through the air were now motionless. Jenova had even stopped singing.

"So, you have finally decided to show your face, Minerva." Jenova turned to face her new opponent.

"You have little power here." Minerva's voice was stern yet elegant, like you would hear from a queen. I could feel her strength in her voice. She wore heavy golden armor and wielded and large round shield with a lance.

'Wait, if Minerva's here than we can beat Jenova. If we can stop her from singing again than Minerva can use Judgment arrow-'

"Zack! Grab Jenova now!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Zack was already running at her. He jumped at her and held her in a full body bear hug. Minerva tried to sing again. As soon as she opened her mouth, I jumped up and shoved my sleeve in.

Instantly, Minerva's armor and weapons flew off of her and formed into a bow and arrow. At the same, a bunch of symbols formed below us.

"Keep holding her!" I shouted. "Wait until the last second! We need to make sure it hits her!"

"You really don't need to tell me twice!" Zack shouted back. Without even touching it, Minerva pulled the arrow back on the bow.

"You are not out of my grasp," was the final thing Jenova said before Minerva let go of the arrow. The arrow show out like a stream of light. It went straight through Jenova. I could feel her fading away from my hand; she was gone within seconds. Zack and I hit the ground. Moments later, the ground we landed on fell. Everything that was up in the air before was now falling back down to the earth.

"That fight was shorter than I expected." Zack jumped onto his feet and pulled me up.

"You're complaining that it ended so quickly!?

"Well, y'know, it seemed to be lacking."

"… I'm gonna pimp smack you."

"You're gonna what?"

"Turn around." Zack and I turned to the voice that was calling us. Minerva was now floating behind us. We were both speechless.

"Three days have passed since you have died." Minerva pointed to me.

"W-what?" I just stared at her while I stuttered.

"It has been three days since you died. Jenova is still alive. I will do my best to keep her at bay from your mind. She still has a light grasp on it. She will bring another to the physical world to do her bidding.

"What are you guys talking about!?" Zack shouted out. Minerva held up her hand to silence Zack.

"I have decided to send both of you back. There is no telling what Jenova will do once she brings back another."

"I… I get to live again?" Zack's eyes grew wide.

"Wait, where are we? What the Hell is even going on here? Why does this look like the town I live in?" So many questions were going through my mind.

"I cannot answer your questions right now. We must move." Minerva held up her hand. A stream of green light covered both me and Zack.

"It feels warm," Zack said as he slowly started to rise.

"Take this with you. Since I have limited power this is all I can spare until you rid me of that parasite called Jenova. Use it when it glows." Minerva handed me a gray materia. I was so confused, I couldn't say anything. Before I knew it, I was rising into the sky with Zack.

* * *

><p>"So, what do we do now?" Zack asked as he looked down on me. I got back onto my feet and walked over to Punisher.<p>

"Well, you heard what Minerva said. It's been three days since- Wait," I picked up Punisher. It felt really light. "Don't tell me…" I opened up Punisher to see if there was ammo in it. "Son of a bitch! They took my ammo!" I checked all the hand guns, they were empty. I started digging around in my pockets. "They even took my stuff from my pockets! All my material is gone!"

"You still have that materia Minerva gave you," Zack happily pointed out.

"Yeah but," I pulled out the materia. "It's gray. I've never seen a gray one before. She said I can only use it when it glows. It's not glowing right now so it's useless."

"Well, we'll just have to make do with what we have!" Zack balled his fist into his hand.

"Yeah, you're right." I picked up Punisher and strapped it onto my back. "Get ready to head out."

"Where're we heading?"

"Well, our friends are currently being held in Junon, right?"

"Right!" Zack nodded his head.

"Well, since they're there, there's only one thing to do."

"And that would be…?"

"Storm Junon."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well, this one took a lot longer to get out. Mostly die to the fact that there were some technical erros and all that jazz. But I still plan on pumping out chapters so thanks for sticking with me! In the next chapter we see what Zack and Boto are going top do! Thanks for reading!_


	28. Chapter 28: Change Of Plans

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! All rights belong to Square Enix and what ever I make references**_** to.**

Chapter Twenty Eight: Change Of Plans

"We've got about a week before everyone busts out of Junon." I looked back at Zack to make sure he was paying attention. He nodded his head as we ran through the forest.

"So we just bust in there and drag them out?"

"Yup"

"Any specific details?"

"… Don't die?"

"I like this plan already! Tell me one thing, though."

"Yeah?"

"What did you mean by video game character?" I heard Zack's foot steps stop. I stopped and turned to face him. He had a serious look on his face.

'I hate explaining myself. This is going to be a long one.'

"Well, my name is Robert Umble. Call me Boto. And I'm… I'm from another world." I explained to Zack the world I live in. That this one is just a video game in mine. He looked as though he were in deep thoughout the conversation. Even after I told him what was going on up until this point, he had the same look on his face.

"So, that's it. That's what I meant by you being a video game character." I waited for Zack to react. For a while, he just stared off into the distancce, just thinking over what I had just said.

"So, you know what's going too happen before it happens?" I nearly jumped when Zack started speaking again.

"Well, to a certain extent… Like, I don't know small details. Just the main parts."

"And I'm a video game character in your world?" I nodded my head. Zack stared at me with a serious expression before a huge grin formed on his face.

"Er... Zack?" I started to feel worried now.

"Heh, I like the idea of being a hero in two worlds." He began to rub his chin as he grinned like an idiot.

"So, you're not upset that you were made up?"

"Hey, the way I see it, the simple fact of both of us being here means that there is no way this could be all made up! Yeah, you know what's going to happen but all of it can change! From what you told me, it already has! Meaning that I still have control of my life!" I smiled as I watched Zack pump himself up. Though the smile didn't last. I needed Zack to do one thing for me.

"Hey, Zack, I need you to promise me that you won't tell the others about all of this. About me being from another world and how I know what's going to happen before it does."

"What?" Zack tilted his head to the right and looked at me with a confused expression.

"Look, if they… if they know that I've known what's going to happen… It will just cause more problems." Zack put his hand over his mouth and stared at me for a few moments.

"I don't like the fact that you're lying to them. But, it's not my call to tell them. You have my word." Zack held out his hand.

"Thanks for having my back." I held out my hand and shook his. "Now, let's go bust out the others."

"I'm looking forward to seeing my Aerith again!" Zack started sprinting down the path.

'Man, I just don't have the heart to tell him that Aerith and Cloud have a little thing going for each other… oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.' I ran after Zack.

* * *

><p>The diggers were surprised to see us when we reached Bone Village.<p>

"What the! How did you guys get in there!?" one of the diggers asked.

"Where did you guys even come from!?" another digger yelled.

"Look, it's a long story. Right now, we're in a hurry." I was about to start running again when Zack grabbed my shoulder.

"Actually, do you guys happen to have some supplies?" I turned to look at Zack when suddenly, I heard his stomach growl. He laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you see, I haven't eaten in a while and there's no point in charging into the enemy headquarters on an empty stomach."

"You really are something…" I was about to sigh when my stomach growled as well.

'To be fair, you haven't eaten in a while either.'

"Shut up, brain," I said out loud.

"Well, looks like I'm not the only one." Zack had a huge grin on his face. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right.

"Fine. Do you have any food and supplies we could use?" I asked.

"Sure, let me take you to our boss. Follow me." One of the diggers led us to a small tent at the entrance of the village.

"So, you're the two that just randomly appeared from the forest, huh?" A man from the tent rose from his chair and crossed his arms. He examined us for a few seconds before extending his hand. "My name is James."

"My name's Boto." I reached out my hand and shook his. "And my friend's name is Zack."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Zack shook his other hand.

"Now tell me, how is it that you two made it through the forest without using the Lunar Harp?" James led us into his tent and offered us a couple of chairs. Both of us sat down.

"The Lunar Harp?" Zack was the first one to speak.

"You don't know what the Lunar Harp is?" James asked.

"Well, I know it's an instrument used to get into the Ancient Forest." I decided to chime in.

"Well, that good. At least one of you knows what it is. Now, how did you get back without using it?" James seemed a bit more demanding this time.

"We didn't use it. I think once someone uses it, it's open for good." I gave him the best answer I could. James seemed to mull it over for a moment before speaking.

"So, the rumors are true. The group of people that came in a few days ago opened it for good." James grinned as he rubbed his chin. "Speaking of which, one of the travelers was wearing a SOLDIER first class uniform like you." James pointed to Zack.

"That was my buddy, Cloud!" Zack jumped out of his chair with excitement.

"Yeah, crazy blond hair with a sword that was almost as big as he was," James laughed.

"Yeah! I gave him that sword a while ago." Even though I told Zack about Cloud falling into the life stream, he still sounded surprised about Cloud passing through here.

"Really? Well, I actually have something you can use. Wait here for a moment." James walked out of the tent. A few minutes later he walked back in, carrying a huge sword. Strapped to his body were about five other swords.

"Whoa! What's that?" Zack pointed to the sword.

"This is a sword I dug up a few weeks back. I'm not much of a swordsman so I was planning on selling it. It looks like you need it ore though so," James held out the sword to Zack, "it's yours. I've named the sword Fusion."

'That's the same sword that Cloud uses in Advent Children!'

Zack grabbed the sword and examined it thoroughly before walking outside and swinging it around.

"It might not be my old sword, but I'm going to cherish it. Thanks old man." Zack swung the sword around a few more times before sticking it into the ground.

"Here, takes these. You add them onto the sword to make an even stronger one." James helped Zack put the straps on. When it was fully on, Zack pulled out the extra swords and started putting them together.

"It almost looks exactly like Angeal's!" Zack shouted when he had finished putting the sword together. He swung it around a couple of times and grinned. "It even feels as heavy as his."

"Right. Now, let's see what food we can spare." After James had given us some food we thanked him and quickly left.

"You know, that's the same sword Cloud uses in the future," I said as we ran down the forest path.

"Really? What's happens to his current one?"

"He uses it to mark your grave."

"So, it's a fair trade off, I guess."

"Are you going to take your sword back once we meet back up with Cloud?" Zack shook his head.

"No, I gave him that sword. Even though I'm back, I'm not going to ask for it back. Angeal didn't ask for it back once I saw him again. I'm not going to either."

We ran directly to the beach once we reached the edge of the forest.

"Yes! It's still here!" I shouted. I pointed to the Tiny Bronco.

"A plane?"

"Yeah, Cloud and the others left it here. I had no idea if it was still here or not." We boarded the plane.

"Does this thing fly?"

"No, it was damaged earlier so we've been using it as a boat. It can only go in shallow water."

"Well, lucky for us, a part of being a SOLDIER first class also involved teaching us a little about planes. I think I might be able to steer us to our destination."

"Right. The fastest way to get to Junon would be to go through Midgar. It might take us a few days once we reach land, but we should be able to make it."

"Depending on how fast this thing travels, it might just take us half a day to make it to the eastern continent." Zack started up the engine of the Tiny Bronco. After some random button pressing and flip switching, we were able to sail through the ocean with ease.

* * *

><p>" Awesome! We're almost there!" I shouted once the beach to the eastern continent was close.<p>

"Yeah, I can even see Midgar from here!"

"Yup! We just need to cut across the land and we'll-" The plane shook violently.

"What was that!?" Zack stopped the plane and scanned the water. Ripples were coming from the deeper areas far behind us. They shook the plane, tossing it from side to side.

"This can't be good," I said as we watched the ripples grow bigger. Soon, waves were coming at us. The water started to rise at the source of the waves. From it emerged one of the creatures from the planet, Diamond Weapon. It let out a fierce roar before moving on our direction.

"What is that thing!?" Zack shouted.

"It's one of those Weapons!"

"How does this end?" Zack turned around and faced me,

"What?"

"You know what's supposed to happen, so how does this end?"

"I don't know."

"What!? What do you mean you don't know!? I thought you knew how this panned out!?"

"I do! It's just that, in the game, seven days went by and they don't really explain what happened during that time. Right now, we're in the gap! So anything could happen!" I was starting to panic. The sense of control I had was quickly fading.

"Hey," Zack put his hand on my shoulder, "we can handle this." He gave me a reassuring smile. "Now let's head to land so we can fight this thing properly!" He jumped into the cockpit of the plane and sped towards land.

'Calm down, you can do this. I might only have one materia that is useless unless it glows… wait, let's see if it is!'

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the gray materia. It was glowing.

"Zack! The materia is glowing!"

"Use it!" Zack shouted. I held the materia tightly and focused on it. I didn't know what to expect from it. I could only hope that it was something good.

The materia shone brighter. In an instant, it went dim. The glow was still there, but not as bright.

"This does nothing!" I was about to throw the materia into the water when suddenly, something started to rise from the shallows in front of us. Crouched down, with its hatch open, was a Metal Gear Ray.

"Go to that, now!" I pointed to the Metal Gear.

"I've never seen anything like it before…" Zack trailed off as we sped towards it.

'A Metal Gear… I can't believe it… An actual Metal Gear. Minerva brought me a Metal Gear…'

When we were close enough I jumped off the plane and ran to the Metal Gear. I stood before it in awe, completely mesmerized by it. Diamond Weapon was closing in on us.

"We don't have much time. Considering the fact that thing looks more suited to fighting Weapon, I'm going to let you take this battle. Just this once though." Zack stood behind me. I nodded my head. As I took as step forward, he grabbed my shoulder. "One more thing."

"What?" I asked as I turned around. Zack brought me in for a huddle.

"On the count of three, we shout 'Boto fight!' Are you ready?"

"What?" I gave him a weird look.

"It's for good luck. Now, are you ready?" I could tell by the look on Zack's face that he was serious.

"Right, on the count of three."

"One! Two! Three! Boto fight!" We shouted in unison and quickly broke apart. I turned around and ran towards the cockpit of the Metal Gear. I climbed onto its head and sat down.

'Aw crap, I don't know how to control this thing.'

The hatch to the cockpit closed. My body tensed up as a full body harness lowered over me, causing me to grow nervous. I began to worry as I waited ion the drak for something to happen. Suddenly, a green tinted screen flickered on in front of me, causing me to squint from the sudden change in light. Random buttons began to flash on as the entire cockpit lit up with a green glow. Below my right hand were buttons and a lever and a strange ball was sticking half way out from underneath my left. I didn't know what they were or how to use them, but there was one thing I recognized. At my feet were two pedals. It looked as though I only needed to press down on them, as if I were driving a car.

"Weapons check: Complete. Auto targeting check: Complete. System cool check down: Complete. System damage check: Complete. Systems check: Complete. All systems are ready." I felt the Metal Gear lift its head.

"Okay, let's see what I can do with this thing!" I stepped on the right peddle. Nothing happened. I stepped on the left one. Nothing happened. I moved the ball to the left. I felt it nudge slightly but that was it.

"This may be harder than I thought." I tried pressing the buttons at my right hand. It only highlighted the top number on the bottom corner.

"Anti-tank missiles: Selected" I pressed the same button again. It scrolled down. "Anti-ship missiles" Selected." I scrolled through the list. It also had cluster bombs, two machine guns, and a water jet cutter.

"Why can't I move!?" Diamond Weapon pushed its way through the water. I could tell Ray was only a quarter of the size of Diamond.

Out of desperation, I stomped on both of the petals. Metal Gear Ray launched itself into the air. I tensed my body up and subconsciously moved the ball forward. Metal Gear Ray dove head first into Weapon and knocked it back. Ray landed on its feet.

"Whoa, that was crazy." I was stunned from the moments of Ray but I quickly shook it off. "I think I might have a feel for this now." I moved the ball forward and pressed the right pedal. Ray took a step forward. I then pressed the left pedal and it took another step forward.

"I've got it!" As I shouted that, I noticed Weapon glowing. A massive ball of energy started to form in front of it. It fired the ball of energy directly at me. I shifted the ball to the left and stomped on the pedals. Ray dove to the left and dodged the attack.

"Okay, try this!" I selected the anti-tank missiles. I locked onto Weapon and fired them. Three jets of light sailed through the air as they made direct contact with Weapon. It didn't seem to do much damage.

"How about this!" I selected the water jet gun. I couldn't move Ray as the weapon charged. As I stood motionless, Weapon used the opening to fire upon me. Ray shook as I was hit directly by Weapons attack.

"Fire!" I shouted as I pulled the lever back. Ray shot a high powered stream of water at weapon. I quickly selected the cluster bombs and fired them. Two missiles show up into the air and exploded. They rained down bombs all over Weapon.

"System over heated. Commencing cool down sequence." I felt Ray move its head as it let out a roar.

"So that's why Ray roars." I moved the ball forward and began pressing the pedals. Charging Weapon seemed like a good idea since it seemed a little stunned. Stomping on the pedals, I made ray jump into the air and land directly onto Weapon. Weapon fell over onto its back, making me stand directly over it. Ray held out its arms as I fired both of the machine guns at it.

Just before I could fire the water jet gun again, Weapon's chest burst open and fired and huge stream of energy at me. It sent Ray flying into the air and straight into the deep water.

"Warning! Systems critical! Seek immediate repair!" The voice warned. The bar at the top left was now very low.

"Shit! This isn't good!" I moved the ball forward and made Ray swim to the shallow water. I resurfaced just in time to see a huge air ship. On it were mounted multiple cannons. The side of it read _Lucifer's Whisper_. Right next to the name was the Shinra logo. The airship pointed its cannons at Weapon and opened fire. It rained down a volley of what appeared to be highly concentrated mako shots.

Weapon took heavy damage. It roared out in pain and quickly retreated back into the ocean.

"That… that was an intense fight." I moved Ray to land again. Suddenly, Ray crouched down. It's hatched opened up and the harness on me was removed.

"Boto! That was awesome! I thought it had you when it shot you into the air!" Zack was already waiting for me. He jumped into the cockpit and pulled me out onto solid ground. I almost fell over.

"My legs are so shaky from that. It's hard to stand." I stumbled forward a bit and almost fell over. At the last second, Zack grabbed me by the arm. He swung my arm over his shoulders. Moments later, Ray glowed a greenish color and disappeared.

"Don't worry buddy, I got you. Now, let's see what our old friend Shinra wants." As Zack said that, the airship flew in front of us. The wind grew stronger as it came closer.

"Zack, I've never seen that airship before. Where'd it come from?" The airship landed about thirty yards in front of us.

"That, that is the flag ship of the Shinra air force. It's called _Lucifer's Whisper_. It's three times the size of any standard airship. It has two hanger bays and six mini mako cannons. I'm surprised they didn't send this after me when I was being hunted down." A hatch opened on the side of the airship. Shinra troops poured out and formed a line on each side of the hatch. The last person to walk out was a woman with long red hair and a red Shinra Uniform. The top part of her uniform was left unbuttoned and wide open. The only thing covering her chest was a bunch of white bandages.

"Who's she?" I asked. The new woman was walking directly towards us. The soldiers lined up directly behind her and followed.

"Her name's Cassandra. She used to be a third class SOLDIER with me, until she was stripped of her rank. You see, we were in the middle of a selecting process to see who would move onto second class. By the looks of it, they were going to pick her over me, until they sent her on a mission to Wutai. She ended up getting her entire squad killed while she was heavily injured. In the end, they bumped her down to standard infantry, deeming her unfit for SOLDIER and picked me to move on."

"Let me guess, she's never liked you since."

"Not one bit." The soldiers behind her surrounded us when she was a few feet away. She gave us a nasty glare as the soldiers aimed their guns at us.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong but you're supposed to be a dead traitor. And you were reported by Tseng to be a dead member of the now fallen terrorist group AVALANCHE. How is it that you two stand before me?" She paced around us as she spoke.

"Question." Zack raised his hand. "How did you get promoted?" Cassandra stopped in her tracks and faced Zack.

"Listen! I'm not going to put up with any crap from you right now! You will answer the questions I ask you and nothing more! If you fail to comply, I will have both of you killed on the spot. Do I make myself clear?" Zack and I nodded our heads nervously.

'This chick scares the crap out of me!'

"Now, you will come with us for questioning or my men will make sure the reports I received about you were accurate. Do I make myself clear?" She was willing to have us killed without hesitation. We were completely out numbered and out gunned. I glanced over to Zack; he seemed to be thinking.

"Hey," Zack whispered, "I'll take care of the fiery one. You take out the troops." I thought it over for a few seconds.

"No." I whispered back, "I think it would be better if we went with her. We can travel faster by the airship. We also might be able to hijack a ride. I'm hoping we can smooth talk our way out or something."

"Okay," he whispered. "Your call."

"You have five seconds to respond before my men open fire!" Cassandra sounded impatient now.

"Okay! We'll go!" I removed my arm from Zack's shoulder and put my hands in the air. He did the same.

"Take them in." With that, Cassandra turned around and walked back to the airship. The surrounding troops put handcuffs on us. They also stripped us of all our weapons and walked us back to the airship.

The inside of the it was massive. We were in what appeared to be the engine room. Giant gears and pipes were everywhere. Engineers and soldiers were scrambling all over the place.

"Prepare for lift off!" I looked up and saw Cassandra on the second floor of the ship. As soon as she shouted, gears started rotating and steam started shooting out of the pipes.

"Prepare for lift off!" Multiple voices rang throughout the room. I could feel the craft lifting off within seconds.

"Now, take the scum to the deck!" Cassandra shouted.

"Yes ma'am!" One of the soldiers grabbed an engineer and started dragging him away.

"Not that scum! The fresh scum!" She shouted back.

"Yes ma'am!" The same soldier came over to us and started dragging us towards a cargo lift. He shoved us with the bunt of his rifle and walked in himself.

"Hey! No need to shove us! We can walk on our own!" Zack straightened himself out once he had his balance.

The soldier said nothing to us during out short trip up the lift. Once the door opened he walked out and turned around, waiting for us.

"Thanks for not shoving." Zack walked out first, I followed closely. We followed him through a door, which took us onto the deck. The rush of wind was incredible and the deck its self was massive. On both sides were three small mako cannons. In the middle, people were walking back and forth, checking the turrets or talking to each other.

I cloud see for miles around. We were thousands of feet in the air. I looked up and saw the sun was already starting to set. There was a single red dot in the sky.

'Meteor.'

"Wow! That was incredible!" One of the engineers ran up to us.

"Huh?" I gave him a confused look.

"That robot from the fight earlier! I've never seen anything like it!" He sounded way to enthusiastic.

"You saw that?" I asked.

"Of course I did! Everyone saw it! As soon as our monitors spotted that thing, we began tracking it! What we didn't expect was to see another person fighting it already. Not to mention that said person was in a robot himself!" He shook my shoulder.

"Wait, everyone here saw the fight?" Zack sounded a little confused now too.

"Yeah! With a robot like that fighting a Weapon! Who wouldn't want to see it!? We have a robot of our own but it's nothing compared to what you have! The way it moved! The weapons on it! How did it even vanish like that!? I mean, one seconds it's there and the next, it's gone!"

"Er… I dunno. It was just… there." I didn't want to tell him that it actually came from a video game.

"Look, we're almost there." Zack nudged me in the shoulder. I looked away from the engineer and saw that we were almost at Midgar.

"Prepare the helicopter! The president wants this airship in the air at all times from now on!" One of the soldiers shouted. Everyone cleared the center of the deck as it split open to reveal a landing pad with a helicopter already on it. A pilot sat at the controls.

"Get in." The soldier who was leading us shoved us towards the helicopter.

"Hey! What did I tell you about shoving!?" Zack shouted back as we walked towards it.

We boarded the helicopter and within seconds we were taking off from the airship. We flew straight towards the Shinra headquarters.

"Never thought I would see this place again." Zack leaned out the side of the helicopter to get a better view of the building. We landed on the top floor and were escorted out of the helicopter by four guards. We were then led into Rufus' office. We saw him sitting down in his chair with his back turned to us.

"I've never seen anything like it." Rufus turned to face us. "A fight like that doesn't come around very often. People are already calling you two heroes."

"Wait, what?" I gave Rufus a confused look.

"What are you getting at?" Zack glared at him.

"The fight between Weapon and the both of you. It was truly amazing. I'm having my people broadcast what little of the fight we managed to catch to the public within the next few hours.

"Show it to the public... Why would you do that?" Zack folded his arms and glared at Rufus.

"Why, to make you two heroes." Rufus stood up from his chair and walked over to us. "It still puzzles me as to how two men who were reported dead can fight with a monster that's the size of Junon but the answers will have to wait. The important thing is, you two are here."

"What?" Zack and I asked in unison.

"I want to make the both of you heroes. I want everyone to see that Shinra can protect them in times like this."

"What the Hell does Shinra have to do with us being heroes?" Zack asked as he tilted his head to the left.

"Let me guess, you want us to join Shinra," I chimed in. Rufus smiled.

"Exactly. With the two of you on our side, the people will look to Shinra for hope."

"Cut to the chase, why do you really want us to join," Zack interrupted.

"Right. I don't see any reason to waste your time." Rufus began to pace back and forth. "I want the public to know that Shinra holds the true power here. That the thing they should fear isn't some monster from the planet or a meteor. The thing they should fear is Shinra. Once everyone realizes that, we will have true power over them."

"No. I'm not joining," Zack said bluntly. Rufus just shook his wagged his finger at him.

"Now now, don't be so quick say no. If I'm not mistaken, you were labeled a traitor before all of this happened. Fortunately for you, that was under my fathers rule. I am not like my father. I'm more, forgiving. If you join, I will reinstate your SOLDIER first class status and clear your name. You can be the hero you've wanted to be."

"What about me?" I interrupted.

"What!?" Zack had a shocked look on his face.

"Ah, you." Rufus turned to look at me. "You are the tricky one. You show up out of no where a little over a month ago with no records on you. What little we do have on you isn't good. I'm willing to wipe all of that away as well. I'm also willing to place you into the SOLDIER program. Think about it, you will have money, power, even women. Being a hero is what it's cracked up to be" I placed my hand over my mouth and began to think.

"Boto! You can't really be considering this deal!?" Zack shouted.

"Let the man decide." Rufus held up his finger to Zack to silence him.

"Give us a bit to decide," I finally said.

"Of course, take all the time you need." Rufus said as he nodded his head. I grabbed Zack by the arm and dragged him out of ear shot from Rufus.

"Boto! What is wrong with you!? Why are you even thinking about this! It's like making a deal with the devil!" Zack whispered furiously.

"I know that. But I have an idea." I whispered back.

"You do?" Zack tilted his head to the right.

"Yeah. I'm thinking that we can use this as a chance to roam freely. We will have access to things we wouldn't be able to even dream about and we can bust everyone out a lot sooner."

"You do realize that it's not going to be that easy, right?"

"I know, but it's the best plan I have. Beside, I have a feeling that Rufus isn't going to let us leave here alive." Zack thought over what I had to say before nodding his head.

"Alright, I'll do it. One more question though. You're not really considering joining SOLDIER, are you?" Zack sounded concerned.

"Hell no!" I raised my voice a bit. "Why would I want Jenova running through my veins after the Hell we went through to get her out of my head!?"

"Alright, just making sure." Zack nodded his head as we turned around and walked back to Rufus.

"Have you made your decision?" Rufus asked.

"We have. We've decided to take you up on your offer." I answered.

"You have made a wise choice." Rufus extended his hand.

"Though, I refuse the offer to join SOLDIER" I said. Rufus gave me a confused look before speaking.

"A little unheard of but to each his own I suppose." Rufus looked between me and Zack and waited for us to shake his hand.

"You have a deal." I said as I shook his hand. Zack just silently shook Rufus' hand.

"As of today, you are both dogs of the Shinra military."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Wow, this took a lot of work! But, it's finally up! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this! I want to make a couple of annoucments though. First, I forgot to mention that in the last chapter I had a bit of help writing it from Three sisters productions. I told them I would give them credit so, here it is. For the second announcment, my laptop is currently not working so I don't know how long it will take for the next chapter to be done. That's it for now. Once again, thanks for reading and remember to thank my beta reader, Serendipital for helping me. This would look so much worse without her help! See you in the next chapter!_


	29. Chapter 29: Time to Shine

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to Square**_** Enix.**

Chapter Twenty Nine: Time to Shine

I sat in the silent, empty, mess hall, staring at my new Shinra I.D. card. It had my name, I.D. number, blood type, and a picture of me in my new Shinra Uniform. It was a standard one, nothing fancy about it really. I decided to not wear the helmet. It was cool and everything, but my head would get too hot in it.

I hadn't had much sleep since I arrived. After our meeting with Rufus, Zack and I were separated and taken in for questioning. They asked me mostly about the Metal Gear Ray and how it suddenly disappeared. I told them it was from my materia, which I really wish I didn't. They ended up taking it away to do some research on it. I was able to keep Punisher, and they really didn't ask about me much.

After the questioning, I was given my uniform and ordered to put it on. Shortly after, they asked me more questions, took a blood sample, and then took my picture. They had me stay in this waiting room for a while. It was empty aside from the accountant at a desk. He didn't really seem to want to talk. I managed to fall asleep for an hour before I was woken up and handed my I.D. card. I was then instructed to wait for further orders.

After the long and confusing night, I went to the mess hall to eat something. Fortunately, it was open 24 hours, so I just grabbed some bread. I just wasn't very hungry, but I needed something in my stomach. So, I sat with the bread in front of me and my I.D. card in hand, waiting for someone to tell me something. Every now and then, someone would pass by, but that was about it. Not many people in the building late at night, so it was empty.

"I heard the rumors but I had to see it with my own eyes." I heard a voice behind me. I turned around to see Reeve Tuesti. My eyes widened in surprise, not for him being here, but for that fact that I'd just seen the first friendly face all night.

"You look like hell." were the first words out of my mouth.

"You look no better." Reeve stared at me with a blank expression before we both started laughing.

"I can't decide if I want to say nice to meet you or good to see you again." I stood up and just laughed.

"How about both?" Reeve stuck his hand out.

"Okay, nice to meet you… I think…" I shook his hand before we started laughing again.

"Once I heard you were alive, I came looking for you. Tell me, what happened? How did you survive?"

"Look, I'll tell you later. My brain is a bit scattered right now."

"Right, I understand why. Though I must say this: you are a hard man to find."

"Really? I've only been on three floors the entire time. One for questioning, one for waiting and… one for eating." I picked up the bread and took a bite out of it.

"Well, I heard that the rogue SOLDIER, Zack, was back and he was reinstated to being a first class again. I assumed you had a similar offer. So, I searched for you on the SOLDIER floor."

"Did you run in to Zack?"

"I did. They had him running around doing a bunch of tasks. Oddly enough, I found him in the mess hall."

"Yeah, I don't blame him. Everything just seems out of order right now."

"You don't even know the half of it. Ever since the WEAPONS showed up and Meteor started moving towards us, the entire facility has been in disarray. It's probably the reason why everything is taking so long for you. They've had all the staff running practically on twenty four hour shifts. Not to mention the fact that most of the group, AVALANCHE has escaped."

"How did they escape?"

"Wait, you don't- Actually, let's go somewhere a bit more private. Follow me." Reeve and I left the mess hall. He didn't say anything else until we reached an elevator. Once we entered, he pressed one of the buttons and waited for the doors to close. He then pulled out a small round circular device and placed it onto the panel. Some sparks flew out of it before we started moving.

"There, I disabled the surveillance system for now. We're free to talk."

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked.

"I thought you would know. You said you know what's going to happen, right?"

"Well, yeah, but there are things that I don't know or don't remember. For instance, there's a gap where I have no idea what happens. It lasts about a week before Tifa wakes up." I paced back and forth as I spoke.

"And this is that week." Reeve leaned against the wall.

"Right. Also, I know that the rest of the team boards the Highwind, but I don't remember how. The game was very obscure on letting you know. It was a small detail type thing."

"Ah, I see. Well, I can fill you in on what happened. Where do you want me to pick up?"

"Uhhh… Pick up where you guys left the Northern Crater"

'I'm pretty sure that's a good place to start.'

"Right, well we boarded the air ship, only to have Rufus apprehend all of us, except for Cait Sith, Vincent, and Yuffie. Rufus wanted to speak with Cait and Vincent and Yuffie jumped ship."

"Okay, that's a little new to me. Continue." I stopped pacing and leaned against the wall as well.

"Well, the airship docked at Junon. Once that happened, Cait Sith was able to free everyone except Barret and Tifa. She had fallen into a coma and Barret insisted on staying with her. So, Cait said they were going to come up with a diversion to get everyone off the ship so that they can stow away on it. That's about all I know."

"Why's that?"

"Well, in order to throw any suspicion off of me, Cait had to cut all communications with me to make it seem as though he had gone rouge. Otherwise, they would have been able to link the plan to me. It will take a bit to get the communications back up but for the time being, I'm in the clear."

"Well, that's good to know."

"Now, what I want to know is, how did you and Zack both come back from the dead?" Before I could answer, the elevator stopped and the doors opened to a very busy office floor.

"Looks like we'll have to talk later." I looked over at Reeve, he nodded in agreement.

"This is one of the many office floors. I have something here I wanted to give you." Reeve led the way out of the elevator. It was a complete mess. Papers were scattered all over the place, people were running around and there was a very angry man in suit yelling at random people.

"What's happening here?" I asked.

"Well, were facing a bit of a financial crisis. Our funds are just disappearing and we can't find the source of what's causing it. It's making some of the people upstairs sweat, so, we're doing everything we can to fix the problem." Soon, the man yelling at everyone was within earshot.

"Why is there a pile of papers on the ground here!?" He pointed to a mess of papers that were lying right in front of him. "Why is nobody picking this up!? And for the love of all that is holy! Why is there a chocobo sitting at Bob's desk in Bob's uniform!?" He pointed into a cubicle that had a name tag on it reading Bob. Reeve and I peered into it to find a chocobo wearing a uniform. It was sitting at a desk, looking even more confused than we were.

"Wark!" The chocobo chirped before pecking at the keyboard sitting before it. The computer screen suddenly light up. Text began to scroll down as random popups appeared on the screen.

"Everyone! The source has been found! I know where the gil's going!" One of the employees shouted from across the room.

"What!? How!? Who solved it!" Another shouted.

"It was Bob! The information's coming from Bob's computer!"

"Well, I'll be damned. This chocobo just saved the entire company." The man in the suit stared in awe at the confused chocobo.

"Drinks all around!" An employee walked out with bottles of alcohol and started passing them out.

"Is… is this normal?" I asked Reeve.

"On this floor… Yeah." Reeve face palmed and shook his head.

"Er… You had something you wanted to give me?" I asked,

"Oh, right. Follow me." Reeve took me to an office and closed the door. It was a messy office, papers and empty containers for food.

"So, what's this all about." I closed the door behind me. Reeve walked over to a desk and dug around in it for a bit.

"Ah, here it is." He pulled out a gray orb and tossed it to me. I caught it and examined it.

"It's my materia! How did you get it?" I asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Reeve sat down at his desk.

"Huh?" I gave him a confused look.

"The science team ran multiple tests on it. They've never seen anything like it before. It holds great power, but when they tried using it, they couldn't get it to work. Now, I want you to explain to me what happened after you shot yourself." Reeve clasped his hands together and waited for me to respond.

"Well, after I shot myself, I woke up in my world, or, what I thought was my world." I went on to tell Reeve the events that happened while I was in limbo with Zack and how Minerva helped us escape. How we traveled from the Northern Crater to here and how the material worked.

"That's it, really. This materia contains a bi-pedal robot called Metal Gear Ray and can only be used when it glows. That's the full story" I leaned against the wall, waiting for Reeve to say something. He sat at the desk, thinking.

"Well, I can't say that I envy your life, but it is very interesting. You're saying that the Goddess, Minerva, helped you? That's a lot to take in my friend." Reeve rubbed his temples as he leaned back in his chair.

"You're telling me. I survived shooting myself in the head."

"Actually, that would make a lot of sense." Reeve leaned forward.

"Huh?"

"Well, after you shot yourself, Barret placed your body into the water. If I'm not mistaken, dead bodies float. Yours sunk like a rock."

"So, you're saying that some part of me was still alive?"

"Exactly! That's how you were able to wake up in limbo."

"Then how does that explain Aerith? When she died, Cloud placed her body in the water and she sank as well…"

"Really… Huh, that is weird…" Reeve and I stayed silent as we thought about the mystery that never happened. It wasn't long until the office door flew open, almost breaking off the hinges. In through the entrance stepped Cassandra.

"There you are." Her eyes burned with hatred as she casually walked up to me.

"What th-" I grunted in pain as she punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. The blow felt like I was just hit with a sack of bricks and brought me to my knees. Within an instant, she had walked out the door. Reeve was staring at me with wide eyes.

"D-does that happen a lot around here?" I asked after catching my breath.

"Only if you anger her…" Reeve trailed off. Suddenly, Zack barged into the room.

"Hey, Reeve! If you see Boto, tell him that Cassandra is- Oh, I see she's already reached you." Zack stood in the door way as he watched me try to stand up.

"I think I'm gonna puke," I said as I finally pulled myself up.

"What was that all about?" Reeve asked.

"Well, remember how Boto refused to become a SOLDIER? Yeah, well Cassandra caught wind of that and got really mad about it. I'm guessing it's because she's been trying to gain her status back for years and you kinda just blew it off like it was no big deal when you were offered a spot in it." Zack rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm starting to think I hate that woman." My stomach had finally settled and the pain was subsiding. Luckily, I hadn't eaten much, otherwise I would have thrown up.

"I'm guessing that telling Boto wasn't the only reason you came here?" Reeve stood up from his desk and walked over to us.

"Actually, yeah. Footage of the fight with WEAPON has been looping for the past hour on all major news networks. Looks like Rufus was right, they did make us out to be heroes. Though, mostly you… for the moment." Zack looked a little bummed out about not getting as much praise.

"If it's of any consolation, I really don't care if I get any praise from the public," I said.

'Okay, that's a lie. I really do like the praise but I'll just let him think I don't care.'

"Okay, the next WEAPON we fight, I'm taking it on!" Zack straightened his back and pointed at himself with a huge grin.

"Dude, it's all yours." I said.

"Awesome! Now, follow me!" Zack grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me out of the office room.

"I'll catch up with you two later. I have more paper work to finish." I heard Reeve say before leaving the room.

"Where the crap are you taking me!?" I shouted over the noise from the party as Zack dragged me to the elevators.

"We're going to floor 49, the SOLDIER floor!" Zack shouted back. As soon as we were in, he slammed his fist into the button for the 49th floor and watched the doors close.

"Wait, why are we going there? I thought it was for SOLDIERs only?"

"I know, but there's someone I want you to meet!" Zack sounded like an excited child.

"Meet someone? Who would that be?"

"You might know him already but I still want you to meet him. I met up with him last night and he was so surprised to see me."

"Wait, what?" Before I could ask any more questions, the doors to the elevator opened and I was dragged out again. As Zack pulled me through, I noticed that the floor was empty.

"We're almost there!" Zack shouted. He took me to what seemed to be a lounge for the SOLDIERS.

"So, who was it that you wanted me to meet?" I asked once we had stopped. Zack walked over to a man wearing a helmet that covered his face and wore a SOLDIER first class uniform. He was laying down on one of the sofas, sleeping.

"Sleeping at a time like this." Zack shook his head and walked over to him.

"Zack, what are you-" Zack held up a finger to silence me. He stood next to the SOLDIER and waited a few moments.

"Wake up!" Zack jabbed his fingers into the side of the sleeping SOLDIER, causing him to jump up and fall off the sofa.

"Huh!? What the- Oh, hey Zack." He stood up and straightened himself out.

"You really shouldn't be sleeping on the job like that." Zack folded his arms and tapped his foot.

"I know, it's just really busy around here." He said. Zack just smiled and laughed.

"Anyway, I want you to meet someone." Zack stepped aside and showed him me.

"Oh, you're the new recruit. The names Kunsel" Kunsel stretched out his hand to shake mine.

'Whoa, I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting to see him here.'

"My name's Boto." I shook his hand.

"Kunsel is a good friend of mine. Once I was gone, he planned on leaving Shinra but ended up staying to try and change things on the inside. He worked his way up to first class!" Zack excitedly proclaimed.

"Jeez, Zack, you sound like you're the one who made first class… again." Kunsel rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

"I'm just glad that there are people I can still count on!" Zack wrapped his arm around Kunsel's shoulders and almost forced him onto the ground.

"I think you need to go easy on him, Zack; he looks pretty beat." I chimed in.

"Yeah, I am. Ever since I've made first class, I've been busy nonstop. This is the first time in three days I've gotten to sleep." Kunsel freed himself from Zack's arm and sat back down the sofa.

"Really? Things are in that much chaos here?" I asked. Kunsel nodded his head.

"We've been short on SOLDIER's, even before Sephiroth returned. Now that this mess is here, we've been working nonstop to make sure the people are safe. Soon, there's going to be mass panic. Just look out the window." Kunsel pointed outside. Zack and I walked over to the window. The sun was just starting to come up. Above it, you could see a red circle. From this view, it was about the size of a golf ball.

"It's meteor." I said. Kunsel nodded his head.

"With that looming in the sky, people will panic. Riots will happen, lots of death in the streets. We have to make sure we keep everyone calm. It's not a big secret that Shinra is corrupt, but most of the soldiers and SOLDIERs here aren't. They really do want to make a difference. As Zack said, that's the reason why I chose to stay, to uphold that honor SOLDIERs carry," Kunsel said.

"You're doing a good job." Zack placed his hand on Kunsel's shoulder.

"Wow, I've never really stopped to think of Shinra like that." I sat down next to Kunsel.

"Yeah, once we learned that we captured the terrorist group, AVALANCHE, the men celebrated."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, AVALANCHE blew up two mako reactors. The power was knocked out and the emergency response teams couldn't make it to other places in time. A lot of people died, not just in the explosion, but from lack of help. Some of the soldier's families were down there…" Kunsel trailed off. The three of us went silent.

The guilt from the bombing still hung heavily on my shoulders. It wasn't something that you just walk away from without any mental damage.

"I'm sorry…" I said.

"Huh?" Both Zack and Kunsel said in unison as they looked at me.

"I was there during the second bombing. Granted, it was against my will, but I still participated. If I was thinking clearly, I could have stopped it." I put my head down in shame. Kunsel placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I know. I know you were a part of the group. I also know that you guys were trying to stop the plate from falling. I know that you've been hunting down Sephiroth and trying to help the planet out."

"Wait, how did you know that?" I asked.

"I know how to get information. I also know that as soon as the member named Tifa wakes up, they are going to execute the two leaders."

"Right, we already know that!" Zack quickly covered his mouth.

'Damn it Zack! I gotta think of a reason as to why we know that without telling him why we know that!

"How do you know that?" Kunsel asked.

"It's because of Reeve!" I said quickly.

"Reeve?" Kunsel focused on Zack.

"Yeah, Reeve! He's working with AVALANCHE!" Zack quickly covered his mistake.

"Really? I thought he was sent in as a double agent?"

"He was, but I convinced him to join us. He's been giving me information on what's been going on. Just recently, he told me about the execution," I lied.

"Well, that's good to know. I'll make sure to start speaking with him more." Suddenly, we heard something ring. Kunsel dug into his pocket and pulled out a phone.

"Call from the higher-ups?" Zack asked. Kunsel nodded his head.

"Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I understand, sir." He hung up his phone.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Get ready to be deployed. Another one of those WEAPONS was spotted over the mountains. It's not doing anything at the moment, but we're not taking any risks. We're sending out the _Lucifer's Whisper_ and three airships to handle it. Zack, you're going to be the SOLDIER leading this attack. Boto, you'll be support on one of the airships."

"What about you?" Zack asked.

"Me? I was ordered to stay here. Your time to shine, Zack." Zack had a huge grin on his face.

"Okay, but before we go, we have to do one thing." He quickly pulled us in for a huddle.

"You still haven't change." Kunsel shook his head.

"On the count of three, we say 'AVALANCHE, fight.'" Zack said.

"AVALANCHE? I'm not a part of it…" Kunsel looked from me to Zack, sounding very confused.

"You may as well be," I said.

"One, two, three! AVALANCHE fight!" The three of us shouted and broke, apart.

* * *

><p>I was standing on the deck of the second airship. We were already heading towards the mountains where one of the WEAPONS were. On the right side of us was the <em>Lucifer's Whisper<em>, above the main ship was the second airship, and the third was on the left side. There were nine other men outside with me; all of them carried assault rifles. I had Punisher; it was fully loaded and I even got a new chain strap to carry it with. I also carried the gray materia.

Before we left, I gave Zack a quick rundown as to what the WEAPOINS are and why they are attacking. I told him that since they couldn't finish Sephiroth, they were going for anything that was harming the planet, which was why they would attack any place with a mako reactor, the two main places being Junon and Midgar.

"All hands, prepare for battle. It has been confirmed that the WEAPON is moving in on our location. ETA, five minutes. We can't let that thing pass the marshes. If any of you do, so help me I will personally kill you myself!" Cassandra's voice boomed over the intercom.

'Okay, relax. You can do this. As long as the materia glows, you'll be able to use Metal Gear Ray. Who knows, it may even be stopped here.'

I looked at the matira to see if it was glowing. There was no change in it.

"Everyone, man your positions! Weapons at the ready! Remember, this is going to be televised on live television to help boost moral. Don't screw this up!" One of the soldiers shouted. We lined up along the side of the airship with our weapons out. The mountains were in sight but the WEAPON was nowhere to be seen.

"Is this thing on?" Zack's voice was now on the intercom. "Oh, all right men, today we go into battle to fight against a mighty creature that the planet itself made. I want you to remember this as we charge out into battle. We are soldiers of the Shinra army. When the Shinra army were sending their full force and pushing us back, we held the line! When the Genesis clones were attacking us from all fronts, we held the line! Today, when we charge this WEAPON, we will hold the line! We will stand and fight! This is what will make us heroes!" I heard shouts and cheers coming from this and other airships. I was trying not to laugh.

'I never knew Zack could pull off a speech like that… or somehow manage to rip off of Mass Effect.'

"Suddenly, there was a loud roar off in the distance. From within the mountains, out flew a WEAPON.

"Ultima WEAPON," I whispered. The airship I was on began to break off from the group by going right. The main one turned to the side and stayed in its position, the one on the left, went left and the one on top moved forward. It didn't take long before the _Lucifer's Whisper_ started firing its mako cannons. Ultima WEAPON didn't seem hurt by its attacks.

"When we're close enough, start firing!" one of the soldiers shouted. I readied Punisher and waited to get close enough. The airship from above began to rain down missiles while the one on the left used machine gun fire.

"Open fire!" a soldier shouted. I squeezed the trigger and felt the recoil from the gun. It was hard to tell if I was hitting Ultima, it was just kind of floating there, taking the damage.

"What the Hell is it doing?!" I shouted.

"I don't know! Just keep firing!" the guy next to me shouted. Ultima's chest began to glow. It aimed at the airship above it and shot out a huge beam, completely destroying the airship above it.

"Holy shit! We need to pull back!" One of the soldiers shouted. I was awestruck at the power this thing had.

"Hey! If you're the big shot you were shown to be, now would be a good time to bring out that robot thing!" One of the soldiers shook me as he shouted.

"What? Right, right, just give me a moment." I checked to see if the materia was glowing. A bright light began to illuminate from it. I began to focus on the materia.

'Come on, I need that Metal Gear!'

The materia brightened before it went dim. I began to search anywhere over the deck to see where the Ray would appear.

"Well, where is it!?" The soldier next to me shouted.

"Just give it a moment." Suddenly, a ball of light formed in front of me. We stopped and stared at it to see what would happen. The ball formed into a red crowbar and fell onto the deck of the airship.

I knelt down and picked up the crowbar. It had a Lambda Team logo on it from Half-Life.

"Oh shit…" I stared in shock at the crowbar.

"Where's the robot!?" a soldier shouted.

"It's not coming," I whispered.

"What!?" He shouted.

"It's not coming!" I stood up and threw the crowbar over the deck. One of the soldiers grabbed me by the collar and forced me against the door to the bridge.

"You mean to tell me the only thing that could help us isn't showing up? You didn't just kill my family, you're going to kill me now too, you piece of shit terrorist!" He was about to punch me in the face when suddenly, Uitima WEAPON appeared right in front of the airship. It grabbed the deck of the ship and began to swing the ship around.

The guy holding onto me flew off the airship along with three other soldiers. My feet left the deck off the airship and I began to fly off it. Before I went overboard, I grabbed onto the side railing of the ship and held on.

Suddenly, there was a loud snapping sound. I saw half of the airship fall into the marshes below. Next thing I knew, the part I was hanging onto was flying through the air.

"Brace for impact!" I heard someone shout. I felt a sharp pain go through my body before I blacked out.

* * *

><p>Zack watched in horror as the airship Boto was on snapped in half. One half fell into the marshes while the other half was thrown and sent flying straight down. The WEAPON let out another roar and flew towards the third Airship.<p>

"NO!" Zack shouted as he ran to the railing to see the wreckage below.

"Call the airship back over here. We're not going to lose another one out there!" Cassandra shouted as everyone scurried around the deck.

As the airship came closer, so did the WEAPON.

"No, no, no! This is bad! I've got to think of something!" Zack frantically looked around the deck to see if there was anything he could use to stop the WEAPON and save his friend.

"Get more mako shells up here!" Zack heard someone shout.

"Wait, those things are going after anything letting off mako. We have mako in a shell… Quick! Somebody get me a gravity materia and two mako shells!"

"What?" Cassandra did a sharp turn around and faced Zack.

"I have an idea! I just need the two mako shells and a gravity materia!" As if on cue, a soldier handed Zack two mako shells. They were both the size of his arm.

"I also have a gravity materia. It's pretty weak though." The soldier handed Zack the material.

"It's perfect!" Zack placed the materia on his bangle and ran back towards the railing of the airship.

"Zack! What the Hell are you doing!?" Cassandra shouted. Zack turned his head to face her.

"Saving the day!" Zack gave her a thumbs up and jumped off the airship. He was in a free fall for a few seconds before landing on the other airship. Everyone stopped to look at him for a moment.

"S-sir! What are you doing here?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Just watch!" Zack pulled out one of the smaller swords and stabbed the shell, causing the mako to slowly leak out. He then ran to the bow of the ship and jumped off again. As soon as his feet left the airship, he threw one of the mako shells at the WEAPON. The mako shell went above the WEAPON. Zack then used his gravity materia on the mako shell to force it onto the WEAPON, hitting it right in the head.

"Got it!" Zack shouted. With a blow to the head and mako leaking out of a shell, the WEAPON was now focused on Zack. The WEAPON dove right after him.

"Okay, I have to time this just right!" Zack started to pull out his swords and put them together before he hit the ground. When his swords were together, he extended his hand and used the materia on the ground. A gravity orb appeared on the ground in front of him, allowing him to land on the top of it. Instead of being pressed down to the ground, he floated on top of the orb for a bit before it slowly pressed into the earth and disappeared. Zack landed on his feet and began to run through the muddy ground.

"I can't believe that worked! Now I just have to outrun this thing!" Zack looked behind him and saw that the WEAPON was hot on his tail.

"Head towards the wreckage! It will be here soon!" he told himself over and over again. As he came closer, the ground began to shake. Seconds later, a Zolom tunneled out of the ground in front of him. Zack dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the Zolom as it dove. Instead of colliding with Zack, the Zolom collided with the WEAPON that was behind him. Zack spun around and watched as the fight between the Zolom and the WEAPON commence.

The Zolom sank its teeth into the WEAPON, causing it to cry out in pain. WEAPON tried to pull of the Zolom, but to no avail. It wrapped itself around WEAPON and squeezed. Out of desperation, WEAPON took off into the air with the Zolom wrapped around it. It flew over the mountains and out of sight.

"It's not dead, but it's gone for now. That's good enough for me." He stared at the mountains before running to the wreckage. Pieces of the airship were strewn all over the place. Zack found several bodies; after checking there pulse, he found that only one was still alive.

"Come on, where is he!" As he looked through the wreckage, he saw a hand sticking out from under a pile of debris. He quickly pulled off the debris to find Boto. He was covered in mud and blood. His right arm seemed to be broken. Zack knelt down to check his heartbeat; he still had one.

"I got you, buddy." Zack scooped up Boto and placed him on his back. He looked up to see one of the helicopters from the main airship flying above him. The helicopter landed a few yards in front of him. Out of it jumped a few medics and Cassandra.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Cassandra stormed up to Zack and smacked him in the face.

"Owwww! Is that how you thank someone for saving the day!" Zack whined as he rubbed his cheek.

"That was dumb and reckless! Do you know how close I came to losing you again-" She stopped in mid-sentence and her face turned bright red.

"What?" Zack tilted his head and gave her a weird look.

"I-it's not like I'm worried about you or anything! I just don't want the moral of my men to fall!" Cassandra shouted.

"Okay, clam down! We've got to get these guys to a medical station and fast." Zack pointed to Boto. Cassandra cleared her throat.

"Right, we'll search for the rest of the survivors and take them to the medical station in Junon. They're better equipped to handle severe injury. Now, get him on board." She pointed to the helicopter and quickly walked over to the wreckage.

"Let's get you some help, buddy. You fought well." Zack boarded the helicopter and waited for it to take off.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Another chapter down! Now that I'm off for summer break, I should be able to get more chapters out... hopefully._


	30. Chapter 30: My Limit Break

Chapter Thirty: My Limit Break

There was a consistent beeping sound. I tried to reach out my arm to turn it off before I realized that it hurt.

"What the…" I mumbled as I slowly opened my eyes. I was hit with a blinding light; it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust. I looked around to find myself in a hospital room on one of its beds.

"What happened?" I tried to sit up only for my body to tense up in pain, causing me to quickly fall back down.

"You're in the Junon hospital. You were in a crash, remember?" I looked around to see Zack walking towards my bed.

"What?" I asked.

"During the battle with that WEAPON. It destroyed two of the airships. I managed to fight it off but I have a feeling that it'll be back." Zack leaned against the nearby wall and crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah, I remember now." I slowly sat up. "I was going to use the Metal Gear, but… it never came." I was in complete disbelief. More people had died because of me. I couldn't help but wonder how many more families won't be seeing there loved ones.

I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. Now was not the time to think about what happened. I needed to keep moving forward at any cost.

"What? What happened?" Zack interrupted my thoughts.

"I don't know. I used the materia and next thing I knew, a crowbar came out."

"A crowbar? That's insane!" Zack's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I know. I don't know what happened out there…"

"Anyway, after the fight we brought all of the wounded soldiers here. We also managed to recover your weapons."

"What? I don't even remember losing them. How long have I been out?" I rubbed the back of my head.

"Let's see…" Zack put his hand in his chin and looked at the ceiling. "It's been about two days. After the battle we took the second airship here while the _Lucifer's Whisper _went back to Midgar. Cassandra and I, with a handful of troops, have been order to stay here for now. Apparently Rufus and a few of the big wigs are supposed to show up today."

"Two days? Holy crap, that gives us… three days before the execution. They must be getting ready for it or something."

"Yup. Fortunately, I walked in just as you woke up."

"Hey, have you been able to talk to Barret or Tifa?"

"Who?"

"I told you about them, remember?" I asked. Zack gave me a confused look and tilted his head to the side. I sighed.

"The dude with the gun arm and the chick with the big boobs."

"Oh, right! Those two! No, they were placed under quarantine. No one's allowed to speak to them."

"What about on the _Highwind_? The rest of Avalanche is still there."

"Nope, I haven't been on that ship. It's meant for transportation, not fighting so there's really no need for me to go on that thing. Besides, everyone would be hiding so I won't know where to find them."

"Well, that's some good news. Though I think the extra airship will prove to be a problem."

"Well, when I last checked up on you, the staff said you should be good to leave after a couple more treatments if you woke up."

I sighed again as I laid back down.

"Yeah, these past couple of days have been hectic." Zack walked over to the open bed next to me and fell face first onto it.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, we've had to stay on constant alert in case any of the WEAPONs showed up. Also, Cassandra has been acting really weird," Zack rolled onto his back and sighed, "I don't know how to describe it; you'd have to see for yourself."

"I have a feeling that I'm not gonna want to." I sighed. It didn't take long for one of the doctors to come into the room and check up on me. They were limited on supplies due to the effort of stopping the WEAPONs, so they used what they could to help. It didn't take them long to get back on my feet. I had a new uniform as well.

Once that was over, Zack led me to where my things were being held. There were many unexplored places in the Junon base that the game didn't show. It was much bigger than what was portrayed.

"You know, this is the first time I've actually been inside here."

"Really? Well, you see the different colored pipes and wires going along the top of all the corridors?" Zack pointed to the ceiling.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, they help to show which way is which. They're connected to a mako reactor within the military base."

"Wait, I thought that the mako reactor for Junon was underwater?"

"Oh, it is. That reactor is also connected to a smaller one in here. It makes powering the base more efficient. It's kinda like a separate power source. All the pipes and wires lead to different sectors of the facility, making it easier to know where you're going. If you follow them back, it will take you to the center of the base which is where the mini reactor is."

"Well that's good. I get lost so easily." It didn't take us long to find the storage facility. As soon as we entered, I grabbed my weapons.

I examined the gray materia to see if anything was different about it. It still looked the same. I then looked over Punisher. It had a few small dents and scratches but it was in good shape. I proceeded to strap it onto my back.

"Right, so, what now?" I asked.

"Well, we wait for Rufus to arrive. He's supposed to give us an update on the other WEAPONs," Zack said.

"Well, that's boring." I sat down on the ground and sighed.

"Hey, you know about limit breaks, right?" Zack snapped his fingers and pointed at me.

"Huh? Er, yeah. I know about them. I just didn't expect them to actually be called limit breaks."

"Well, that's the term that we currently use. Ultimately they're just special moves that we learn. It takes up a lot of energy to use them."

"Isn't the energy for it built up by being attacked a lot?"

"Well, that's one of the methods. It's a tactic used for rookies but another way is to just kind of gather the energy yourself. It takes a little longer but it's much more efficient in the long run."

"It's not going to be like in Dragon Ball Z where you have to stand there and charge up, is it?" I laughed.

"The dragon's what now?" Zack gave me a confused look.

"Never mind."

'Note to self, must tell Zack about DBZ.'

"So, what kind of limit breaks have you learned?"

"Well, I didn't learn them, to be exact. They were more or less given to me."

"WHAT? You mean to tell me you don't have a move to call your own?" Zack looked completely astonished.

"Er… No, I don't. Is that a bad thing?"

"You bet your sweet bippy it is! Let's go!" Zack grabbed my arm and dragged me through the building.

"Zack! Where are we going?" I shouted.

"You'll see in just a bit!" Before I knew it, we had stopped. I looked to see a ladder leading up in front of us.

"Where does this go?" I looked up to see a hatch at the top.

"Just follow me; you'll see." Zack began to climb the ladder. I just shrugged and followed him. When Zack opened the hatch, I felt a gust of wind. I had to cover my eyes for a second but I managed to make it to the top.

"Welcome to the top of Junon," Zack said. I took in the view as I stood next to Zack. You could see everything from here. I looked up to see meteor. It was much bigger than before.

"Whoa, this view is amazing," I said.

"Yeah, whenever I was stationed here, I would come up and practice. The platform here is large enough to do that, plus I love the view."

"So why are we here?"

"I'm going to help you create your own limit break and teach you how to use it without having to take damage," Zack said with a grin.

"What? But why? I already have limit breaks?"

"You do, but they're not your own. With training, you will also become stronger. If we get into a fight with another WEAPON and your gray materia sends out something weak, you're going to be in trouble like last time. So, I'm going to prepare you for that."

'He's right; if I'm going to fight WEAPONs then I'm going to need to be able to fight them without having to fully depend on the gray materia.'

"Alright! What's the first thing I do?"

"Okay! First, you have to try and focus your energy. Remember back to when you took damage and a sudden burst of energy flowed through your body." Zack began to pace back and forth.

"How do I do that?" I gave him a confused look.

"Hmmm, try to envision it in your head. Think of it as a little ball of light within you."

"A ball of light?"

"Yeah, a ball of light. Focus on it like you would with materia." Zack slammed his fist into his palm.

"Wait, how is gathering the energy going to teach me to do an attack?"

"Well, it's not so much teaching you as it is just bringing it out. Everyone has a special ability. I can teach you how to bring it out."

"Okay, I'll try." I closed my eyes and began to focus.

'Okay, focus on a ball. Think ball, think ball… What does a ball look like again? Crap! How could I forget! Uahhhhhh! I can't work well under pressure! Okay, just relax. Relax. A ball is round. Yeah, there it is, a small ball of light… Huh?'

"I can feel something in my chest. It's warm."

"That's good! That's the energy I was talking about. Now, keep focusing on it!" Zack shouted. I continued to focus on the ball of light. The longer I focused the more the warmth grew in my chest until it spread throughout my body. Suddenly, I was filled with energy.

"Whoa!" My eyes shot open. It felt like I could barely contain the sudden burst of energy. I looked at my hands; they were trembling.

"That's it, that's what you need! Now, just try to focus on something and let it all out!" Zack looked even more energetic than I did.

"Just let it out," I whispered. I closed my eyes and pictured the ball again.

'Crap, how do I let it out? Maybe I just need to focus it on a part of my body. I'll focus it into my right hand then.'

I focused on my right hand. I could feel my whole arm tense up as all the energy started rushing towards it.

"Whoa! That thing looks awesome! Open your eyes and check it out!" I opened my eyes to see that my arm was completely covered in fire.

"Holy shit! My arm's on fire!" I stretched out my arm and stared in awe at it.

"Now just release it!" Zack shouted eagerly.

"Uh-duah, okay!" I pulled my arm back and clenched my fist. I turned to face the ocean and punched the air in front of me. Multiple balls of fire shot out from my fist and spread out. Once they were out far enough they exploded. Suddenly, I felt really drained of energy.

"That was awesome! I can see that doing a lot of damage in the future!" Zack shouted.

"I don't remember limit breaks taking this much out of me." I fell to my knees and a breathed heavily.

"That's because this way is different. It uses more energy but you take less damage. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Zack pulled me back onto my feet.

"I don't think I have another one of those in me for today," I panted.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's not a thing you just walk away from all fine and dandy. Speaking of which, what are you going to call it?"

"What?"

"Your new limit break? It has to have a name, you know, something to shout out before you attack."

"Why would I shout out my attack? Won't it let the enemy know what I'm doing?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point. A hero shouldn't be afraid to let their opponent know what their attack is. If you're strong enough, you should be able to take them down even if they know it. Besides, it sounds cool when you shout the name of your attack." Zack had a huge smile on his face as he put his hand behind his head.

"Well, if you put it that way, how about… Devil's Cannon?"

"Devil's Cannon? That's amazing! I like the sound of it!" Suddenly, Zack's phone started to ring. He pulled it out and answered it.

"Yeah? Got it!" He quickly put his phone away.

"What's going on?"

"Rufus and a few other guests are going to be here by helicopter soon. I'm to gather everyone at the helipad right now."

"Aw crap, can't I just sleep?" I whined.

"Nope, we gotta go now."

* * *

><p>After having to run around gather everyone, we finally stood in two neat rows in front of the landing pad. I was at the front of the right hand side while Cassandra stood at the front of the left hand side. Behind both of us were regular soldiers. Zack stood front and center, ready to greet Rufus when he arrives.<p>

'Awwwww crap! Why did I have to sign up for this? I really don't want to just stand here. I think Cassandra is glaring at Zack… No wait, she isn't. She's just staring at him. Wait, is she blushing?'

I turned my head a little more to get a better view. To my surprise, she was staring at Zack and blushing. She had a lost gaze as she focused on him and him only. Her mouth was slightly ajar, making her look completely lost in him.

'Ho-ly shit. So this is what Zack meant by her acting weird. She's in love with him! And he hasn't even caught on!'

The sound of a helicopter could be heard now. It came closer and closer until the helicopter flew over our heads. The wind blew hard in my face, causing me to squint and cover my eyes.

As soon as we saw Rufus step down from the helicopter, all of us stood at attention.

"Welcome to Junon, sir!" Zack saluted Rufus as he walked over to him.

"I must say, your victory against the WEAPON was astounding. My plan is working just as I said it would," Rufus said. Zack lowered his hand and grinned.

"Thank you, sir. Where are the others?" Zack moved his head to look behind Rufus.

"They'll be coming shortly in another helicopter. Their laughter just became too much for me." Rufus shuddered.

"Yeah, I can remember their laughter. It was pretty crazy." Zack placed his hand on his chin.

"Anyway, back to business. Cassandra, Boto, up here." Rufus pointed at us and motioned for us to stand next to Zack. I nodded my head and walked over to them.

"Sir!" Cassandra saluted Rufus. Her face has the same serious look it usually has.

"Sir." I followed Cassandra's lead and saluted.

"Boto, due to you surviving the crash, the moral of the people has gone up significantly. But it's not enough. With meteor looming in the sky, people are starting to panic." Rufus then shifted his attention to Cassandra.

'Let me guess; the plan is the execution.'

"Cassandra, in two days I will have you return to Midgar. Due to your service, you will be rising to the rank of commander. That is all." Rufus walked down the line of soldiers and into the base. The soldiers followed him in.

"Hey, isn't that great! You'll be up in ranks in not time." Zack placed his hand on her shoulder. Her face went completely red.

"I-idiot!" She punched Zack in the stomach and marched off. Zack fell to his knees.

"I don't get that woman sometimes." Zack gasped.

"You'll understand someday." I pulled Zack onto his feet.

"I don't think I want to." Zack's face turned very pale.

"Come on, let's find a place for you to lie down." I grabbed Zack by the arm and led him back into the building.

* * *

><p>I got up early the next morning and tried to find my way to the mess hall. Taking Zack's advice, I followed the pipes which led me to my destination. Only, when I arrived, there was a group of soldiers standing at the doorway, looking through a crack in the door.<p>

"Er… What's going on?" I asked as I walked up.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" All of them shushed me at once.

"Scarlet and Cassandra are in there right now," one of them whispered.

"Okay, what's that have to do with anything?" I whispered back.

"You don't know? Well, for as long as anyone could remember they both have hated each other. Whenever they're around a fight always breaks out." He seemed pretty nervous.

"But it sounds really quiet right now." I stood behind him and looked into the room.

"That's because it's the calm before the storm."

"I don't get it, why is Scarlet here in the first place?"

"I don't know. She came in here complaining about not having room service and having to get her own food or something. As soon as we saw the two in the same room, we got out of there as fast as we could."

I could only see two people in the room: Scarlet and Cassandra. They were sitting on opposite ends of a table, eating in complete silence.

"You know, I do believe you have put on a little bit of weight," Scarlet said as she padded her lips with a napkin.

"It begins…" the soldier in front of me whispered.

"I'm sorry; I couldn't hear you over the sound of your fake breasts bouncing." Cassandra didn't even bother to look at her.

"What was that, you red haired hussy!" Scarlet stood up from the table. Her face was seething with anger.

"Hussy!? I'm not the one displaying my chest like a couple of plastic dolls on a window!" Cassandra stood up, knocking over the bench she was sitting at.

"How dare you, you stupid skank!" Scarlet marched directly over to Cassandra.

"Tight assed bitch!"

"Dirty whore!"

"BITCH!"

"WHORE!"

"Man oh man am I hungry!" Zack shouted as he burst through the doors on the other side of the mess hall. The whole room went silent as Zack stared awkwardly at the Scarlet and Cassandra.

"That poor bastard. He has no idea what he just walked into," the guy next to me whispered.

"Cassandra, what are you doing here with… with er… Scarlet. It's been a while since I last saw you..." Zack walked over to Cassandra and stretched out his hand. He had a nervous smile We stood in shocked silence to see what Scarlet would do next.

She first looked at Zack, then at his hand, then at him again. She slowly grabbed his hand as her face began to turn red... In an instant, she pulled forward, throwing herself onto him.

"My love, you're back," she said seductively.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" All of us burst through the door and stared on horror as Scarlet clung to Zack. Zack looked horrified and Cassandra's jaw dropped so low it may as well have hit the floor.

'What the hell!? Didsjdfno… huh? Guahhhhhhh!'

"Ah! I see you still have that crush on me! Well, I'm already spoken for by Aerith!" Zack tried to wriggle his way out from Scarlet's grip.

"It's okay; she doesn't have to know." Scarlet stared longingly into Zack's eyes.

"Get your dirty claws off of him!" Cassandra tore Scarlet off of Zack and stood in front of him.

"My my, is that jealousy I detect?" Scarlet had a smug look on her face.

"N-No! I just don't think it's appropriate to be doing something like this!" Cassandra's face turned bright red.

"Oh, I can see through that lie. It is jealousy. Though it is to be expected with a perfect love like ours." Scarlet placed her hands on her face and drifted away into her own fantasy.

"I told you! I'm already spoken for! I'm not interested in you at all!" Zack flailed his arms around.

"Oh, don't worry. You will be. I'll see you around my love. Kyahahahahaha!" Scarlet gave a sly look to Cassandra and left the room. Everyone stood in shocked silence at what just happened. Cassandra slowly turned her head towards us.

"What the hell are you worthless maggots staring at?" She was seething with rage. She grabbed one of the nearby tables and threw it as us. I dove out of the way just in time to see the table slam into one of the other guys.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed as he tried to cover his body. It was all in vain though as the table hit him, sending him flying through the door. Everyone was now scattered throughout the room with a raging Cassandra.

'Ohshitohshitohshit! We're gonna die!'

"Everybody RUUUUUUN!" Everyone scattered out through any exit they could find. I ended up crashing though one of the windows and into the hall with Zack. We took off down the hall as fast as we could.

"When do we stop running?" I panted.

"As soon as we're clear of her line of sight!" Zack was running at full speed. We stopped once we felt we were at a safe distance. I was hunched over trying to catch my breath while Zack was leaning against a wall gasping for air.

"S-since when did Scarlet become such a love crazed woman?" I gasped.

"Since when did Cassandra like me?" Zack slowly sat down on the floor.

"I only have this to say. It sucks to be you right now." I sat down next to him.

"Thanks. You're a lot of help. Just because of that, I'm going to make you work twice as hard on your limit break today." Zack glared at me.

"Haha, yeah- Wait, what?" Before I knew it, Zack grabbed my arm and dragged me away.

* * *

><p>Zack was incredibly fast, his attacks almost impossible to dodge. Slice after slice after slice, it was impossible to concentrate.<p>

"You need to focus under pressure. If you can't do this then you'll never be able to use your limit break without having to take damage."

"It's a little hard to do that!"

Zack had taken me back to the rooftop of Junon. He told me that he was going to teach me how to focus on the energy for my limit break while in a fight. First, he just had me focus on the energy and let it fade over and over again. This way I would get used to focusing on it. Next, he started attacking me with full force.

'Okay, focus. Feel the ball in your chest. Let it grow but make sure to dodge-'

Before I knew it, Zack's sword was in my face. He came inches away from stabbing me.

"No, start over. If I were to hit you then this whole thing would be a waste of time. Hitting you would only serve to speed up your process but we want to do this without having to get hit." Zack pulled his sword back and waited for me to get ready.

"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought." I let the energy flow out of me and started all over again. We trained like this the entire day. There were moments where Zack had me sneak into the mess hall and take some food. He didn't want to risk running into Cassandra or Scarlet.

I didn't manage to unleash my limit break. As hard as I tried, I only managed to make it about halfway. Zack told me I was making great progress though. I didn't feel like I did.

We did the same thing the next day. We went to the top of Junon to train. Same as the day before, I had to sneak Zack some food in order to avoid running into Scarlet and Cassandra. Though just Scarlet now due to Cassandra leaving for Midgar.

It wasn't until that evening, when Zack and I were sitting down eating, that I realized I didn't have a plan to stop the other airship from taking down the _Highwind._

"Zack, what are we going to do about that other airship? The execution is tomorrow and we still don't really have a plan." We were sitting at the edge of the roof, looking out into the ocean while we ate.

"I don't even know what the plan for getting the other two out is." Zack shoved a piece of bread into his mouth.

"Well, the plan is-" I suddenly felt something press against my head.

"Don't move," A dark and deep voice said from behind me. I heard a clicking sound right after he said it.

"Yeah! Don't move or spiky-haired dude will get it!" A loud shrill and obnoxious voice shouted.

'Wait, it can't be…'

"Vincent? Yuffie? Is that you?" I turned around to see both Vincent and Yuffie standing behind us. Yuffie had her shuriken placed across Zack's throat.

"B-Boto!?" Yuffie had a shocked look on her face.

"I said don't move." Vincent's gun, Cerberus was now pointed directly at my face.

"Whoa, take it easy Vincent! We're on your side!" I tried to lower his gun, only for him to press it against my forehead.

"You have some really nice friends," Zack said sarcastically.

"You shot yourself in the head. How is it that you're still alive?" Vincent glared at me. It was hard to stay calm and look Vincent in the eyes.

"Just lower your weapon. I'll explain what I can. There's no need to get hasty now," I said calmly. Vincent narrowed his eyes for a bit before lowering his weapon. Yuffie took her weapon away from Zack's throat and lowered it. Both of us stood up and turned to face them.

"Okay, good. Now let me explain-" I was cut off by Yuffie smacking me in the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in a Shinra uniform? What are you doing with this guy? What are you even doing alive?" Yuffie was furious. She looked as though she was going to kill me.

"Just calm down. I'm going to explain that." I told them what happened after I shot myself. How Zack and I ended up in limbo and how we ended up joining Shinra.

"Wait, one question. What did Jenova mean by you returning home?" Yuffie gave me a puzzled look.

"Yes, I am also curious about that as well." Vincent added.

'Shit, well I knew this was coming. Fortunately I already have an answer for this. I might as well be a little bit more honest with them.'

"Well, as it turns out, I'm actually from another world."

"What?" Both Zack and Yuffie shouted in surprise. Vincent's face expression remained hidden under his cloak.

'Haha, I bet Zack wasn't expecting me to come out and say it like that.'

"I'm sorta like Jenova, being from another world and everything. She pulled me from my world and made me try to help her. For a long time she's had some influence in my mind but you already know how that ended."

'I'm not going to tell them that in my world this is all a video game and I know what's going to happen. That will just complicate things even more. I'm already going out on a limb with this.'

"So, you're an alien!" Yuffie's eyes were beaming with excitement at the news.

"Er, yeah, I guess you could put it like that." I rubbed the back of my head.

"That's so cool! Do you have flying saucers and little green men were you come from?" Yuffie was ecstatic.

'Well, it's good to see Yuffie still trusts me. Vincent on the other hand, I don't know.'

"We don't have time to talk about that right now. Right now we need to come up with a plan to save Barret and Tifa." Vincent interrupted Yuffie. She just pouted.

"Wait, before we go into that, how did you guys escape from the airship?" I asked.

"It was awesome! Vincent grabbed me and jumped off the airship and transformed into this creepy flying creature! He managed to fly us across the ocean and close to Midgar! It took him a while to recover, but once he did, we infiltrated the Shinra headquarters looking for everyone, only to find out that they were taken here! So, in order to try and break everyone out we were going to sneak in from the top! Then we ran into you two!" Yuffie said with excitement.

"That was the most summed-up version of a story I've ever heard." Zack said.

"Anyway, we need to come up with a plan-" I was cut off from a phone ringing. Zack reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

"Talk to me," he said casually.

'I don't think that's how you answer your phone Zack, especially if it's from one of the higher ups.'

"Hey, Reeve! You managed to get back in touch with Cait Sith? That's great!" Zack lowered his phone and looked at me. "Who's Cait Sith again?" He whispered.

"Give me that!" I snatched the phone from his hand.

"Hey, my phone!" Zack whined.

"Reeve, it's me, Boto. I also have Yuffie and Vincent here with me."

* * *

><p>"Okay, so does everybody know the plan now?" I asked as I looked around the group. Everyone nodded their head.<p>

"My part sounds simple enough." Zack grinned.

"You can count on Vinny and me to do our part!" Yuffie smiled and pointed to herself.

"Great, I'm really counting on the both of you to get your job done as soon as possible. You know where to go when it's over," I said.

"We should be going now. We've stayed out in the open long enough." Vincent was about to turn and leave when Zack grabbed him by the cloak and pulled him back in.

"Oh no you don't! Not before we do one more thing!" Zack grabbed Yuffie and pulled her in with Vincent.

"Wha-!" Yuffie gasped in surprise.

"Oh, I know what you're doing." I gathered into the huddle.

"On the count of three, we say 'AVALANCHE, fight!'" Zack shouted.

"Oh, sounds like fun!" Yuffie grinned. Vincent just stayed silent.

"Ready? One. Two. Three. AVALANCHE, fight!" all of us shouted except for Vincent. He seemed rather indifferent about the whole thing.

"You know, I would normally never say this, but due to the circumstances, I think it's okay." I had a huge grin on my face as I spoke. "Nothing can go wrong with this plan."

* * *

><p><em>AN: And I have another chapter down! Yes, this took a while but there were some difficulties. All in all, the chapter is up! Also, I'm already working on the next chapter so expect to see that one soon! I'm really looking forward to that chapter. I've finally reached a major plot point that I've been planning since the beginning of last year. Like, early January. So, I'll see you all in the next chapter!_


	31. Chapter 31: Destruction

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Everything belongs to it... whatever at this point. I stopped caring a long time ago...**_

Chapter Thirty One: Destruction

Barret stood in the corner of the room. It had been about a week since their capture and Tifa falling into a coma. They had also removed Barret's gun arm just to make sure he doesn't try anything.

"How the hell are we supposed to get outta here?" Barret mumbled as he paced back and forth.

"…ding…" Barret stopped pacing and turned to look at the only other person in the room. Tifa.

"Huh?" he asked.

"The glare…" she mumbled. Barret walked over to the table she was lying on.

"You'll be better soon. You've been asleep for a long time."

"I'm… hungry…" Tifa slowly moved her hand over her eyes to block out the light. Barret almost laughed then his face turned serious.

"Hey, why don't you ask? You know, about him?" He didn't want to push her too much but this was something that needed to be addressed now.

Tifa slowly sat up. Her glazed eyes made her look lost and confused. She slowly turned her head towards him.

"Because I'm scared."

"Don't worry; I don't know what happened to Cloud either." Barret turned around and slowly walked over to the window. The shutters were closed on it. He didn't like looking outside anymore.

"Guess I really shouldn't tell you not to worry…" He sighed. "None of them know if he's alright either."

"He's still… alive, right?" Tifa looked as though she knew he wasn't. He couldn't tell her the truth, he had no idea. So, he just nodded his head.

"How long… was I asleep?" She asked.

"Lessee now… Must've been about seven days."

"What about Sephiroth?"

"You ain't over it yet. Remember that huge light, in the Northern Cave? Since then the crater's been surrounded by a huge barrier of light. Everyone knows Sephiroth sleeps in the big hole, protected by the barrier. We can't do a damn thing about it. We just gotta wait till he wakes up. An' on top of the, some huge monsters called WEAPON have been on a rampage." Barret leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"WEAPON?" Tifa slowly turned to the side and dangled her legs off the table.

"Remember that huge monster that was with Sephiroth at the bottom of the crater? Well, it's up here now. They say it's some legendary monster from the past. From my understanding, there's more than one of em' too."

"They're… protecting Sephiroth?" Tifa asked. Barret shook his head.

"Dunno. But one of em's up here goin around, tearin shit up. Right now Rufus' is fightin' it. I hate to say it but he's got guts. We shoulda' been the ones to destroy it but we ain't got no time." Barret walked to the other side of the window.

"Time…" Tifa slid off the table and rubbed her forehead. She suddenly turned around to face Barret.

"Hey! What about Meteor?" She asked. Barret motioned for her to come over to him. She nodded her head and did so. Barret pressed a button on the wall and the shutters began to rise. Outside was a red sky and in the middle of it was a huge ball covered in strands of flames. Meteor easily eclipsed the sun.

"Do we have to give up?" Tifa seemed a little frantic.

"Dunno." Barret just sighed. The door to the room suddenly opened. Both Tifa and Barret turned to see who it was.

"I thought Cloud would show up to save you all. Professor Hojo wanted to check up on Cloud too," Rufus stated as he walked in.

"What are you going to do to Cloud?" Tifa glared at him.

"Sephiroth's alter ego… Meteor has been summoned. Essentially it's all but over now. So, there's no need for you now." Rufus began to walk towards them. At that moment, Heidegger walked into the room.

"President! Preparations for the public execution are complete," Heidegger declared with a grin on his face.

"Execution!? What're ya gonna get by executin' us?" Barret shouted.

"You are to be executed for causing this situation. People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished," Rufus replied casually.

"I take back what little praise I had for this damn jackass!" Barret pointed his gun arm at Rufus only to remember that he didn't have it on him.

"Well, enjoy you last moments together." Rufus turned and walked back out of the room.

"I'll tie your arms now." Heidegger began to walk towards them. Tifa and Barret raised their fists in defense.

"You gonna make us?" Barret glared at him.

"No, but they will." As soon as Heidegger said that, a small group of soldiers clambered in, their rifles aimed at them.

"Gyahahahaha! Now then, I'll tie your arms now." Heidegger walked over and placed handcuffs on them. Barret and Tifa remained silent.

They were escorted through the base. Going through multiple rooms, each lined up with soldiers watching them, making sure they didn't try to escape. Barret kept watching for any way to try and break free. He saw no such opportunity.

The execution chamber had a small crowd and a camera crew waiting for them. They shot the pair nasty looks and muttered to one another.

"IS everyone here? These are the ones who brought this madness into the world!" Scarlet was standing in front of everyone, pointing directly at Tifa and Barret.

"The hell are these people?" Barret looked around the room.

"We will be broadcasting your miserable deaths live on national television." She had a nasty smile on her face as she spoke.

At that moment, the door in the back opened again and everyone turned to see who it was. Tifa's eyes widened in shock while the rest of the room erupted into applause.

"What… How can you be here?" Tifa stammered.

"My love! You've come to watch me kill these nasty vermin, haven't you?" Scarlet's eyes beamed with excitement.

"Eh… Yeah, sure." Zack nervously rubbed the back of his head.

_**The day before**_

"Ah, Boto. It's good to hear from you. Wait, you said Vincent and Yuffie are with you? Did you already… Well, tell them about _you_?" I heard Reeve's voice from the other side of the phone. He sounded a bit nervous.

"Don't worry. I already have the covered," I reassured him.

"Wait, isn't Reeve one of the guys that works for Shinra?" Yuffie looked completely baffled.

"Yeah, he's the one controlling Cait Sith," I said casually.

"Well, I wouldn't say controlling so much as to just giving orders to," Reeve pointed out.

"What!?" Yuffie looked completely shocked. Her eyes were wide and her jaw looked like it was about to hit the floor. Vincent seemed indifferent.

"Anyway, I've called to inform you that I've made contact with Cait Sith again. He said that everyone is still on the _Highwind_ and waiting for Tifa and Barret," the executive continued.

"Good, hold on a second." I pulled the phone away and examined it. I pressed a button on it and held it out.

"Okay, you're on speaker. Everyone can hear you now," I said.

"Good, well then-"

"You're the one controlling Cait Sith!?" Yuffie interrupted Reeve.

"Not controlling, just giving orders." Reeve sighed on the other end.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense…" Yuffie placed her finger on her cheek and looked up at her headband with a confused expression.

"That's not important right now. What is important is the fact that tomorrow Barret and Tifa are going to be executed." I sat down and placed the phone on the floor.

"What? They are?" Yuffie shouted.

"This does prove to be a problem," Vincent said in a monotone voice.

'It really doesn't sound like it's a problem to you.'

"Right, so I figured I would contact you to try and come up with a strategy to help break them out," Reeve stated.

"Well, we know that they're going to be taken to the gas chamber tomorrow. Right Zack?" I looked over to him. He seemed to be confused at first but his eyes instantly widened.

"Yeah! They're being taken to the gas chamber tomorrow," he said quickly.

'Good, he played along. We were never told how they were going to be executed.'

"So, maybe someone could go in there and bust them out?" I suggested.

"Yeah, I might be able to send Cait-"

"I can go in and do it." Zack cut Reeve off.

"Yeah, you can- Wait, what?" I gave Zack a confused look.

'Well, this is a bit different. Cait Sith is supposed to be in there, but this might work too.'

"Yeah, it shouldn't be much of a problem. I just stroll in there like I'm about to watch it and then knock out the guards and bust them out of there," Zack explained as he sat down next to me.

Vincent narrowed his eyes at Zack. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"I can vouch for him. He's done nothing but help me ever since we met up," I said.

Vincent's gaze shifted from Zack to me. "That doesn't say much coming from you. You've lied to us the entire time."

"Yes, Boto may have lied but what was he supposed to say?" Reeve said.

"Wait, you knew?" Yuffie knelt down in front of the phone.

"Yes, Boto told me- Sorry, I mean he told Cait Sith about it. It wasn't very easy to believe him but after a while, he convinced me. If it were not for him doing so, I would have never joined everyone." Reeve sounded very serious. Everyone went silent for a moment.

"Thank you, Reeve," I said. Vincent just nodded his head.

"Awwww, you two make a cute couple." Yuffie shoved me and started laughing.

"Shut the hell up!" I shouted.

"All joking aside, I'm the one going to bust Tifa and Barret, right?" Zack looked around at everyone.

"Yeah, I think so. We should be able to get to the _Highwind_ without much of a problem." I nodded my head.

_**Present Day**_

"Well, I promise I won't disappoint you," Scarlet whispered into Zack's ear right before another soldier burst into the room.

"We've got a problem! That damn traitor is trying to blow up the reactor! I knew Rufus shouldn't have trusted him! We need all the help we can get trying to stop him!" He shouted.

"You guys go! I'll stay here to make sure the prisoners are executed." Zack pointed to the door.

"You heard the man! Let's go get this asshole!" One of the soldiers shouted. Soon the guards were all gone, leaving Zack the only one left to guard the room.

"Sounds like that guy has it right, betraying Shinra." Barret mumbled. The crowd began talking amongst themselves about the turn of events. Then the warning lights started flashing.

"Emergency! Emergency! WEAPON is approaching! All military personnel report to your stations! Squads four and seven, stay on pursuit of the traitor!" A voice boomed over the intercom system.

"Oh no! WEAPON's coming! I've gotta get out of here!" One of the men from the crowd jumped from his seat and ran.

"Run!" A woman screamed as she did the same thing. The entire mob of reporters went wild then, fleeing the room in droves. Soon there was only Scarlet, Zack, Barret and Tifa left.

"Oh my, you'll protect me! Right, my love?" Scarlet threw herself into Zack's arms.

"Er… Right. Here, I need you to hold this rag for me." He pulled out a small blue cloth and gave it to Scarlet.

"Oh, a gift? You shouldn't have!" She took the cloth and held it up to her face.

"Yeah… Something like that," Zack replied nervously.

"It smells kinda funny. What's on it?" Scarlet held it up to her face and inhaled deeply into it before her eyes rolled back and she fell in a heap on the floor.

"Oh, that? I drowned it in chloroform!" Zack had a huge grin on his face.

"What the hell are you doin'!?" Barret shouted.

"Being the hero and busting you guys out of here! Hold still." Zack pulled out one of his smaller swords and sliced through both Barret and Tifa's handcuffs. They broke apart and fell to the ground like scrap metal.

"What the hell?" Barret stared at Zack in disbelief.

"Here, I'm sure this belongs to you. Don't worry, it's loaded." Zack tossed Barret's gun arm to him. He examined the gun for a moment before he attached it to his arm.

Barret immediately pointed his gun at Zack. "Why should we trust you?"

"Easy Barret, it's okay. I know him." Tifa calmly place her hand on Barret's arm and lowered it.

"What? But how?" Barret stared at Tifa in confusion.

"His name is Zack. He was in Nibelheim all those years ago…" She looked from Barret to Zack.

"Ah, hahaha, so you remembered me." Zack nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you sure about this guy? He's a SOLDEIR." Barret's eyes shifted from Tifa back to Zack.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Tifa assured and Barret nodded his head.

"Good. Now then, I need you guys to follow me to the landing pad. Our ride is waiting!" Zack pulled out his larger sword and ran towards the door. He opened it and looked both ways before waving for them to follow him. Barret and Tifa looked at each other before she nodded her head. The followed him down hallways and straight to the exit.

"We're almost outside-" Suddenly, the whole building shook, causing everyone to stumble.

"What was that?" Tifa asked once the shaking stopped.

"That must've been the mako cannon," Zack said. A few seconds later the alarms stopped.

"Did they get em'?" Barret asked.

"I'm not sure. Those things are hard to take down." Zack waited a bit before moving towards the door.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" Zack opened the door and ran outside with Tifa and Barret following. Outside, there were a couple of soldiers running towards them.

"You think we actually took that thing down?" One of them shouted.

"I don't know. We need to- Wait, what the hell is Zack doing with the prisoners?" The second one asked.

"Shit, I was hoping to avoid this." Zack charged ahead and struck the two soldiers down in one blow. Suddenly, the alarms started going off again. They looked out into the ocean to see something rising from the water. Miles away, Sapphire WEAPON was charging directly towards Junon.

"That thing's still alive!?" Tifa shouted.

"We need to move, now!" Zack led them to the lift, taking them directly to the landing pad. As they were heading up, an airship flew above their heads, heading straight towards WEAPON.

"Don't tell me that thing's our ride." Barret had a worried look on his face.

"No, it's not. In fact that thing's supposed to be disabled by now. What's taking them so long?" Zack stared at the airship, looking as though he was expecting something to happen to it.

As soon as the airship was close enough, it opened fire on the approaching WEAPON. Soon, missiles and gunfire were being shot out of Junon to try to stop the approaching WEAPON. It proved to be ineffective as the monster maintained its charge. As soon as it was close, it shot out a beam, hitting Junon directly. Not much damage was done though. It was getting ready to fire again when the Sister Ray shot it directly in the head. The WEAPON lurched hard before tumbling back into the ocean with an enormous splash.

"Was it finally taken down?" Tifa asked.

"I sure hope it was. Come on, there's an airship we need to board." When the lift reached the top they took off towards the _Highwind._

"We're getting on that thing?" Barret asked as they came closer. Before anyone could respond, the other airship flew above them. It seemed as though it was about to attack them when the side of it exploded. It went into a tail spin and began to fall.

A single person managed to jump from the airship before it was out of sight. Moments later a loud explosion was heard.

"Hey, isn't that…" Tifa trailed off as the person landed in front of them. He landed on his side, rolling a bit but quickly regained his feet.

"It's about time you two took that thing down. I thought I was gonna have to go up there and do it myself." Zack folded his arms and grinned. Vincent remained silent. Wrapped in his left arm was Yuffie. She looked incredibly sick.

"Hey Vinny, let's not do that again," Yuffie said weakly.

_**The Airship**_

Vincent crouched low in the shadows and slowly approached the airship.

"Hey Vinny, do you think this thing is going to take off while we're on it?" Yuffie asked as she quickly followed Vincent.

"Don't know," Vincent said casually as he remembered the conversation that had led to them being here.

_"But what will you do about The Fallen Angel?" Reeve asked._

_"That what?" I looked down at the phone._

_"It's the name of the second airship that is currently stationed in Junon," Reeve patiently explained._

_I placed my hand onto my chin. "Oh, I was actually thinking about that."_

_"Me and Vinny will take care of it!" Yuffie proudly pointed to herself._

_"Vinny?" Vincent asked._

_"Can you two handle it?" Zack looked from the ninja to the former Turk._

_"You're talking to the Single White Rose of Wutai! There's nothing that she can't handle!" Yuffie spun around and did a random pose._

_"Just as long as you guys take it out before Zack gets everyone to the Highwind," I said._

"So, how are we doing this? We going in back to back crane style and beating the living daylights outta anyone who tries to get in our way?" Yuffie started punching the air.

"No." Vincent used the scope on his rifle to see how many soldiers were standing guard. He counted two of them.

"Oh, well can we exit the ship by jumping off of it as it explodes like the couple of bad asses we are?"

"No. We are to disable its engines and leave without anyone noticing." Vincent lowered his rifle and moved towards the airship.

"You're no fun!" Yuffie cried as she pouted. She quickly followed Vincent to the airship though.

They managed to sneak aboard by using the ventilation system. It was big enough for them to crawl through.

"How much further do we have to go?" Yuffie was crawling behind Vincent.

"I don't know." Vincent kept checking through the open vents to see where they were.

"Can't we at least knock out the guards? It'll go by so much faster," Yuffie pleaded.

"No. If we do that someone will notice. Meaning they will get suspicious and alert the ship. Making our job that much more difficult."

Yuffie just sighed. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound. The vent jolted down, causing them to slide backwards out of the vent. Yuffie landed on her butt while Vincent landed on his feet.

"Owwwwwww! That huuuurt!" Yuffie slowly rose to her feet and rubbed her backside while Vincent looked around. They were standing in the middle of a hallway. To their right was a door. Their left side just led to more hallways.

"Which way are we going?" Yuffie looked from side to side. Vincent walked towards the door and examined it. He pressed a button on the side, causing it to slide open. The door led to a set of stairs leading down.

"So, don't we need to head to the engine room?" A voice came from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah but we can wait a little bit," Another voice said. Vincent crept forward a little to have a better look. He saw two guards standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Think we should follow them, Vinny?" Yuffie asked. Vincent nodded his head.

"We'll wait for them to move." Vincent waited silently.

"So, did you hear that the execution is taking place today?" The guard on the right asked.

"Yeah, I did," The one on the left said.

"It's a real shame too. That girl who's being offed today was hot!"

"Yeah, did you see the size of her rack!?"

"Dude, I managed to get close to her and I shit you not, hers are about the same size as Cassandra's!"

"You're full of shit! No way!"

"Yeah dude, just think what it would be like to wake up to that in the morning." The guard on the right suddenly had a nosebleed.

"Yeah, wrapping your hands around that. Much better than small ones." The guard on the left also had a nosebleed. Vincent heard Yuffie shuffle around behind him. He turned to look at her. Her face was red and a vein was popping out of her forehead. Both of them looked down at her chest and then back up again.

"Let's kill them now Vincent." An evil smile grew on her face as she pulled out a shuriken.

"No, we're not raising the alarm." Vincent had to hold Yuffie back.

"They deserve to die! There's nothing wrong with small boobs! Vincent, what do you think?" Yuffie gave Vincent the puppy dog eyes.

"I am not interested in the bust of a woman," Vincent deadpanned.

"But, but-" Vincent held up his hand to stop her from stammering.

"They're moving." Vincent started to follow the guards when suddenly, the alarm started going off.

"Alert! WEAPON is heading towards Junon! All hands prepare for lift off!" A voice boomed over the loudspeaker. Not even a moment later the airship jolted. They could feel it slowly rising into the air.

"Oh man, this isn't good." Yuffie's face grew a sickly looking green color on it. She leaned against the wall for support.

"Looks like we have a change of plans." Vincent pulled out Cerberus and made sure it was loaded.

"I thought we weren't going to kill anyone?" Yuffie asked weakly.

"That was before the ship was in the air. If we don't take it down now everyone is going to have a hard time escaping."

"I don't think I can fight at the moment…" Yuffie trailed off. Vincent grabbed her arm.

"Vincent!? What are you…" Yuffie's face turned even greener. Vincent then took off down the hallway after the two guards. When he caught up to them, he raised his gun and pointed it at them.

"Tell me where the engine room is," Vincent said in a dark tone. The two guards instantly froze. They slowly turned around to see Vincent glaring at them.

"Holy shit! Where'd you come from!?" Both of them shouted at the same time.

"Tell me now or you both die." Vincent shot in between them. Both of the guards dropped their guns.

"Yeah, no problem. This job ain't worth dying over," the one on the left said quickly.

"It's down the hall and to the right." The left one pointed down a hall. Vincent looked from one to the other. In the blink of an eye he move in between them and knocked them out.

With Yuffie still on his arm, he ran towards the engine room. He felt the ship shake from its cannons being fired.

"Ughhhh, how much further?" Yuffie groaned as they ran. Vincent came to a sudden halt. In front of him was the door to the engine room.

"Can you fight?" He asked. Yuffie grabbed her shuriken and slowly steadied herself.

"Yeah, just… You lead the charge." Yuffie leaned against the wall. Vincent readied his gun. The door slid open, revealing three engineers and two guards. None of them were paying attention to him. They were running around making sure the engines were running properly. Vincent raised his gun and shot both of the guards in the room.

"What the hell?" One of the engineers shouted. All of them looked up to see Vincent.

"Kill that bastard!" The engineers reached for their side arms but before they could pull them out, Vincent shot each one of them. The room was cleared within seconds.

"Yeah… That'll teach them to mess with- Oh Jeez!" Yuffie almost fell over as the airship suddenly turned. Vincent walked over to the main control panel and examined it.

"Do you know how to shut this thing down Vinny?" Yuffie slowly walked over to him.

"Hmm…" Vincent stared at it before he pointed his gun at it and fired. Sparks went flying as the gears sped up. Shortly after a small fire started within the spinning mass of gears. Before they knew it, one of the engines exploded, leaving a huge hole where the engine used to be. The airship began to spin, throwing both Yuffie and Vincent off their feet.

"We're going down!" Yuffie managed to shout. Vincent regained his footing and grabbed Yuffie. He held on to her tightly as he forced their way towards the hole.

"Vinny! What are you-" Before she could finish, Vincent jumped through the opening. Yuffie wrapped her arms around his chest and clung to him. They went into a free fall for a few seconds before hitting the ground.

_**Back on the Ground**_

"Vincent!? Yuffie!? The Hell were you doin' on that thing?" Barret shouted.

"Making sure our escape plan would work." Yuffie released her grip on Vincent as he let go of her but was obviously still woozy.

"With that airship out of the way we can leave without having to worry about being shot down," Zack said.

"I hate flying." Yuffie's face was still green.

"We don't have time to stand here and talk." Vincent began to walk towards the _Highwind_.

"Right, we need to go." Tifa followed him. Everyone else did the same thing. When they were close enough to the airship, a rope ladder fell down from it.

"Well, took ya long enough to get here," Cid said from the deck.

"Cid!" Tifa shouted out.

"Well, I'll be damned. You guys really did wait for us." Barret looked up at Cid and grinned.

"Oi! You lads need to get up here! Everyone is waiting!" Cait Sith shouted.

Barret's eyes widened before he shouted, "Shit, you're still with them?"

"Just get up here!" Cait shouted back. One by one everyone climbed onto the airship.

"So, who's this dog of the military?" Cid asked as he pointed to Zack.

"This is the man on the inside I was talking about." Cait grabbed Zack and Cid's hand and made them shake.

"I'm going to assume you're the captain of this ship" Zack asked once they stopped shaking hands.

"You bet yer ass I am. The name's Cid." Cid took out cigarette and lit it.

"Mine's Zack. I guess I'm an ex-SOLDEIR first class."

"Well shit, that makes another one." Cid took a long drag.

"Where's everyone else at?" Tifa asked.

"They're inside. Come one, we still need to pick up one more person." Cait motioned for everyone to follow him.

"We do?" Barret had a confused look on his face.

"Who's this person anyway?" Cid asked.

"You'll see," Zack said with a grin.

"I'll just wait out here. I'm already getting sick." Yuffie said before collapsing on the floor. Once everyone else was inside, they saw multiple people running around.

"Get ready for lift off!" Cid ordered.

"Right, you heard the captain!" One of the crew men shouted. They walked down the steps and into the rushing crowd of people. It was only moments later that they felt the ship lift off.

"ZACK!" Everyone turned their heads to see who was shouting. Aerith was standing at the entrance to the control room. She smiled as tears ran down her face.

"AERITH!" Zack shouted. He ran straight towards her and engulfed her in a hug.

"I-I thought you had died. The planet had told me-" Zack and put a finger on her lips.

"I did, but that doesn't matter anymore. I'm back now." Zack held her tighter as she just rested her head in his chest.

"This is a very touching reunion but you are blocking the exit." Zack and Aerith looked down to see Nanaki looking up at them.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aerith's face turned red as they quickly broke apart.

"Is that a talking dog!?" Zack kneeled down and stared and Nanaki.

"No, I am Nanaki," he said a in an annoyed tone.

"And I'm Zack," he said happily as he patted him on the head. Nanaki just glared at him. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard. The entire ship was suddenly thrown into a steep bank. Everyone was thrown onto the floor.

"What the hell's going on!?" Cid shouted as he made his way to the control room. Everyone was holding onto something, trying not to be set flying somewhere. It didn't take long for the ship to stabilize.

"You guys are gonna want to get in here and see this." Cid's voice boomed over the intercom system.

"What the hell…" Barret railed off as they walked into the control room. Cid was standing at the wheel; he was clutching it with his mouth wide open.

"Cid' what's going on-" Tifa stopped mid-sentence as she looked out the huge window in front of them.

"This wasn't part of the plan!" Zack ran to the window and stared in horror. Junon was covered in flames. There was a huge gaping hole in the side of the military base. The Sister Ray Cannon was gone.

_**Junon**_

I was walking down the corridors of Junon with Punisher on my back. I was no longer in the standard uniform. I was wearing my regular cloths.

"Okay, just remember the plan. It should be easy, right?" I asked myself.

_**The Day Before**_

"What about you, Boto?" Reeve asked.

"Me? Huh, I never really thought about that…" I trailed off.

"You can just go with me." Zack suggested.

"Nah, I want to make a really cool entrance. You know something that will kinda make me stand out." I placed my hand on my chin and grinned.

"Boto, I don't think now is the time to think about stuff like that," Reeve said.

"Hey, I never get to do something cool and show-offy! So I want to make a cool entrance!" I defended.

"I know, you can distract everyone! Make them think you're a traitor or something! Then you can come up here and we can pick you up in the airship while you just narrowly escape the other soldiers!" Yuffie jumped onto her feet and waved her arms in excitement.

"That's perfect!" I shouted.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Reeve spoke. "Actually, that can work to our advantage. It would be much easier for Zack to break everyone out."

"Well, sounds like we have a plan." Zack pumped his fist into his palm.

_**Twenty Minutes Ago**_

"Right, now let's make some noise." I took a deep breath as I walked to the mess hall. The room was pretty full right now. Not many people were paying attention to me.

"Hey, why are you out of uniform?" One of the soldiers asked as he walked up to me.

'Okay, show time.'

I swung Punisher over my shoulder and smacked him with it, sending him flying into the wall. The whole room went silent.

"Shinra is killing the Planet! The only way to stop it is by blowing the reactors! Starting with this one!" I shouted into the air and ran out the room.

"Wait, what!? Shit, we gotta stop him!" I heard one of the soldiers yell.

"I knew this bastard would turn on us!"

I shot down the hall as fast as I could. It was only moments later that gunshots rang out behind me.

'Remember, follow the pipes straight towards the reactor. Then, follow them towards the roof. It'll be simple.'

I took cover behind a corner, waiting for the soldiers following me to catch up.

"You guys might want to think about changing condiments! Because this weak sauce you brought isn't doing it for me!" I shouted then fired above their heads to agitate them further.

"You son of a bitch! Bring in the SOLDIERs!" I heard them shout. Moments later a First Class SOLDIER came running at me. He was moving ridiculously fast.

"Shit!" I had just enough time to raise Punisher to block his attack.

"I knew you were going to do this! I just knew it!" The SOLDEIR shouted. Overhead the alarms began to go off. A voice over the intercom system announced that WEAPON was approaching.

'Right on schedule'

The entire building shook as a shot from the Sister Ray was fired. It threw everyone off balance. I used this opportunity to force the SOLDEIR off of me and run for it.

Every now and then I would turn around and shoot in their direction. It slowed them down but not by much. The alarm died down and started back up again. The building shook and the alarm stopped.

'Okay, if I remember correctly, that's it for WEAPON.'

I turned left and found myself facing the reactor. It was actually pretty big. All the pipes and cords were leading to a control panel.

"What the…" I said as I walked forward. In front of the panel was a woman sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She looked to be about my age. She was wearing a black tank top with green and blue striped pajama pants. She had long black hair with purple stripes in it.

"Who are you?" I asked. She slowly looked up at me.

"I've finally found you." She slowly stood up.

"What the hell are you doing here? It's not safe. You need to go back to Junon."

"My name is Rose," she continued, completely ignoring what I was saying.

"That's great, but you need to get out of here."

"Mother sent me to find you." Her voice was soft and shaky.

"Yeah, okay just- Wait, mother?" I gave her a confused look.

"That's right. Mother said that if I find and kill you, I could go home." A smile formed on her face as tears swelled up in her eyes.

"Wait, do you mean Jenova?" I began to panic.

"That's right." She nodded her head.

"Then… does that mean you're from-"

"We've spotted him! He's in front of the reactor!" The soldier had finally caught up with me.

"We can't have them bothering us. No, we sure can't." Rose stretched her arms out to each side of her. Two objects floated into her hands, beams of light shot out of each one. One was green, the other was purple.

"Are those light sabers!?" I shouted as I jumped back.

"Open fire!" A soldier shouted. In the blink of an eye, Rose threw one of the light sabers to the side. It spun around and took down the guards surrounding me before arcing back to her. She caught the light saber without even looking at it.

"Now, it's time to finish you," she said happily. Electricity began to form around her hands. It rapidly stretched over her body.

"Wait, you're standing in front of the reactor!" I shouted.

"UAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as the lighting grew larger, engulfing the room.

"NO! STOOOOOO-" There was a loud explosion that sent me flying backwards. When my vision cleared I was on my back in a pile of rubble. It wasn't very hard to dig myself out. I had managed to keep a grip on Punisher. I was in what used to be a hall. The walls were completely gone and most of the floor was missing. Everything else was covered by smoke, though a red flashing light could be seen through it.

I tried to take a step forward but found it was really hard to move me left leg. Looking down, I noticed that there was a pole sticking out from it. I didn't know what to think of it. My thoughts were in a mess and I couldn't feel anything.

I started to hear a faint alarm. It slowly grew louder and louder. Instantly, a sharp pain shot though my leg.

"GUAHHHHHHHH!" I fell to my side as I finally came back to my senses. I could hear more explosions within the building as it shook.

"I'm surprised that didn't kill you." I heard a voice. It was Rose again, though I couldn't see her. Instantly, a huge portion of the smoke cleared. She was standing on the opposite end of what was left of the hallway. She was now covered in ash and blood, though she seemed to be perfectly fine. A huge chunk of the floor was missing between us. She was moving her hands, each time she did, another portion of the smoke would move.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.

"Mother told me to obey her, so I did. In exchange, she gave me these powers. I've never killed anyone before today…" Tears formed in her eyes again but she quickly wiped them away.

"Don't listen to her, she's lying!" I shouted as I tried to stand up. It was a very painful process.

"Mother said that she isn't lying. She said I need to kill you. So that's exactly what I'm going to do." She ignited her light sabers once more and jumped across the gap that was in between us. I didn't have much time to move. I pointed Punisher at the floor and shot a circle around me, causing me to fall through it. I hit the floor hard, only to fall through it again, landing two floors below my original spot. I groaned in pain as I landed on my back.

"Come on, gotta get this thing out of my leg." I leaned against the wall. I didn't have much time before Rose would show up again. I grabbed a piece of debris and bit down on it. Then, I grabbed the pipe in my leg and pulled as hard as I could. Pain shot through my whole body as I pulled it out. Once the pipe was out, I threw it to the side and spat the piece of debris out. I wanted to cry out in pain but I couldn't make a sound. I tore off the sleeve from my hoodie and tied it around my leg to stop the blood flow.

"Gotta move," I murmured weakly. It was still hard to walk but I was able to move faster now. I took a few steps before Rose landed right in front of me.

"No no no, I can't let you leave." She sounded hysterical. She readied her light sabers again. Suddenly my materia began to glow again. I quickly used it, hoping for something to help me out. A hook shot formed into my left hand.

"Oh, that's interesting. That's from The Legend of Zelda, is it not?" Rose asked. I raised it to my face and examined it.

"It is. And it's better than a crowbar." I raised Punisher and shot at Rose. She blocked any bullet that went towards her. While she was distracted, I aimed my hook shot into another area. I was quickly pulled away and up through the floor.

"Gotta get out of here." I ran/limped, trying to find anything to latch onto to pull me along.

"You're not leaving that easily!" Rose was right behind me. I aimed at the ceiling and fired my rocket at it, creating a large hole in it. I once again used the hook shot to pull myself through. I landed in the room where Rufus was supposed to be giving his commands. It was empty and completely destroyed.

"W-where's the mako cannon?" I stared out the window in horror. Pieces of the cannon were strewn all over the place. I looked up to see the _Highwind_ flying towards the roof.

"Oh, you're trying to reach Cid's airship, right?" I turned around again to see Rose.

"Don't come any closer." I aimed at her again.

"Mother has given me lots of power. If I wanted, I could take it down."

"What?"

"I'll make you a deal, you surrender to me and I won't kill everyone on the ship. I know you're working with them and I know they're important to you. Otherwise you wouldn't be working so hard to stop mother."

"No, you couldn't…"

"Mother has given me powers that I never knew I could have." She extended her hand and motioned for a desk to rise. It lifted off the ground and hovered there.

"Just like a Jedi…" I stared in horror at her.

"Your choice." She forced the desk into the wall.

'Shit, this isn't good. Things just keep getting worse and worse. I can't just give up and die but I can't just let her take down the _Highwind_. There is that small chance she's bluffing. But she just destroyed this place with force lightning. No, I have to fight.'

"Here's my answer." I shot at her again. She dove out of the way and readied her weapons again. Before she could attack, I used the hook shot to go to the floor above.

"You can't run forever!" I heard her shout.

"No time to think, just run." It was much easier to make my way to the top, even with a hurt leg. I didn't see Rose so it made it easier to make it to the top, but I was worried about what she was going to do.

"Made it," I said as soon as I climbed the ladder to the roof. The airship was circling around the roof.

"I don't see anyone on it…" I readied the hook shot to board the ship when I heard a thud behind me. I felt something hot go right through the wound in my leg.

"Don't move or I'll kill you now," Rose said. She had stabbed me with her light saber.

"UAHHHHHHH!" The pain was unbearable. I almost passed out.

"Now, watch as I take down the airship." Rose slowly raised her hand in front of me.

'Think of something, come one! Wait a second, I've got it!'

I slowly built up energy into my hand. I was hurt enough to where it was easy and quick. I slowly pointed my hand at her.

"Devil's Cannon!" I shouted. I blasted her away from me. I felt the light saber leave my leg. I turned around to see if she was still there. She wasn't.

"Gotta move fast. I don't think that's the last of her." I used the hook shot to board the airship. I landed with a hard thud.

"Uahhhh, that hurt." The hole in my leg was cauterized but it still hurt.

"B-Boto! What's going on?" Yuffie was clinging onto the railing for dear life.

"Not now, gotta hurry." I limped into the ship as fast as I could.

"Boto! What the hell's going? The plan was to lure everyone away, not blow up the reactor!" Zack was waiting for me.

"We gotta move, now!" I shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL!? You were dead!" I heard Barret shout. I limped past both of them and made my way to the control room.

"Boto!?" I heard Aerith shout. I didn't stop. I made my way into the control room to see everyone else there.

"It's about time you showed up! Can you tell me what in the blazes is going on down there?" Cait Sith ran up towards me.

"Holy shit! Where in the hell did you come from!?" Cid shouted.

"Y-You're alive?" Tifa stammered.

"This is very shocking indeed," Nanaki said.

"Now's not the time! We need to get the hell out of here!" I shouted.

"We ain't goin' nowhere till you tell us what's goin' on!" Cid was shouting until the ship suddenly shook.

"Try to turn this around, now!" I threw myself at the main controls for the ship.

"What was that?" Zack ran into the room with everyone else behind me.

"The ship won't move!" The pilot shouted.

"Move!" I shoved him out of the way and grabbed ahold of the wheel. The ship slowly began to turn on its own. In a matter of moments, we were facing Junon.

"Who the hell is that?" Barret shouted. Rose was standing on the roof of Junon again. This time, she had both of her hands out, like she was holding the ship. Slowly she began to pull us towards her.

"When I give you the signal, you hit that switch on the wall!" I shouted out.

'If we catch her off guard, we might be able to break free of her grip.'

"Is she dragging us towards her?" Zack asked.

"Come on, just a little further." I gripped the wheel as the ship began to shake violently.

"What's going on?" Cait shouted. We kept getting closer and closer until we could practically see her face.

"NOW!" I shouted. The pilot hit the switch and the airship shook even more. Suddenly, we launched forward, breaking free of her grip. I regained control of the airship and steered us towards the open plains.

I let the pilot take control of the airship before I collapsed onto the ground. I was being crowded by everyone. Their mouths were moving but I couldn't hear anything. I just closed my eyes and let sleep fall over me.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hello again everyone. I have some news for you. I have a new beta reader now. Her name is Saria19. I would like to thank her, for the millionth time, for beta reading for me, and on such shot notice. Serendipital is MIA. I can't seem to get a hold of her so I asked Saria19 to help me. And she has done a great job. On another note, I will try to get these chapter out faster. For some reason, I just haven't been in the mood to write when I sit down to write. Yet every time I leave, I suddenly really want to write! I don't understand myself! So, I noticed that when people send PMs or something, telling me to write, I usually get motivated. So, it would be very helpful if you sent me one telling me to get back to work or something. I know some people will really want to read the next chapter after what's just happened. Thank you for your patients and I plan on seeing you in the next chapter!_


	32. Chapter 32: Aftermath

Chapter Thirty Two: Aftermath

I felt a strange sensation on my leg, almost like someone was poking it with small needles. The feeling slowly started to burn, rapidly growing hotter. m\My eyes to shot open and I quickly sat up, only to hit my head and fall back down.

"Uahhhh! What the hell was that!?" I began to rub my head furiously.

"That was the top bunk of the bed. You just hit your head on it. You're currently in one of two barracks on the Highwind." I turned my head to see Aerith sitting next to me. She had her hands over my leg. A brilliant white light was illuminating over it.

"W-what happened?" I asked.

"You had a hole in your leg. I'm healing it. Sorry if it hurts; it won't be much longer now." I eased myself up, staring in awe at my leg. The hole in it slowly sealed, leaving smooth skin in its wake. When it was fully recovered, Aerith sighed in relief and wiped some sweat off her forehead. It looked as though I was never stabbed.

"How did you do that?"

"Ever since the incident in the temple, my magic ability had increased tenfold. Though it takes a lot out of me."

"Incident? Oh yeah, when I... I owe you an apology." I was never able to explain what I did and why. I just shot myself in the head and showed up a week or so later. "Look, Aerith. I can explain-" She grasped my hand and placed it on her cheek.

"You are here, just like Zack. I'm glad that another important person has returned to my life." Tears began to form in her eyes as she smiled.

"Thank you, Aerith." I sighed in relief. Suddenly, everything that had just recently happened came rushing into my mind like a flood breaking through a dam.

"What's wrong?" Aerith's face grew grim as I shot out of the bed.

"Wait. W-what happened just now?!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, d-did Junon really..." I couldn't finish the sentence. I looked over to Aerith, only to see her look away from me.

"Then that means..." I started to panic, my breaths quicken. "Shit shit shit _shit!_"

"Boto, just calm down." Aerith stood up and tried to place her hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"No, not just that. That_ girl!_ Rose! She- She... I need air. I need air now!" I could only see the door now. I burst through it, trying to find my way out. My surroundings were blurred; I just kept dashing from one area to the next. Somehow, I found my way to the deck.

The rushing wind hit my face as I ran to the railing. I felt like I was going to vomit.

'_Shit!_ She knows. She knows exactly what's going to happen, just like me! She's stronger than me too. She-'

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as I was turned around and punched in the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doin!?" It was Cid. The anxiety in me suddenly turned to rage.

"You think you can just-" I punched him in the face as hard as I could, cutting him off mid-sentence. I even managed to knock the cigarette out of his mouth. It blew away in the wind.

I was getting ready for another strike when somebody grabbed from behind and held me back.

"Easy there, buddy. No need for fighting." It was Zack. Tifa was holding Cid back.

"You son of a bitch! I should throw you off my ship for what you did to Junon!" Cid shouted.

"For what I did!? I saved us back there! If it weren't for my quick thinking, we'd all be dead right now!" I shouted back.

"You call blowing a military base and taking control of my ship saving us!" Cid struggled to break free from Tifa's grip.

Tifa's grip tightend. "Both of you need to calm-"

"That crazy bitch blew up Junon! Then she tried to take down the ship!" I interrupted Tifa.

"From where I'm standin', it looks like yer workin' with her! You just suddenly come back from the dead and expect us to believe that you had nothin' to do with Junon blowin' up!" Cid and I struggled to break free and start fighting again.

"That's enough outta both of you!" Barret's voice boomed. He smacked both of us across the face with his gun arm. This time, I really did calm down. "Look, I know things are confusing right now but we gotta have a level head. Fighting with each other ain't gonna do us any good."

"You know it's serious when Barret has a level head." Cait Sith said. Cid and I just stared at echo other.

"Okay, let's go, Boto. It's best if we separate you two for now." Cait Sith followed as Zack pulled me back into the ship and straight to one of the barracks.

"Okay lad, start from the beginning," Cait Sith said.

"What the hell happened back there!?" Zack pointed out the door.

"R-Rose, she knows. She knows what I know." I began to say. I couldn't think straight.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Zack asked.

"Jenova pulled her like she pulled me. She _knows_ everything that's going to happen! She's stronger than me! I don't know what's going to happen anymore!" My vision began to blur, my breaths coming out heavier and shorter as my heart began to beat rapidly.

Cait Sith slowly stepped towards me. "Just calm down-"

"_Calm down!?_ I can't calm down! This throws everything off! She has the powers of a Sith Lord. This girl is going to kill all of us and there's nothing we can do to stop her! She knows where we're going to be before we get there. She's stronger than any of us and she-" Zack suddenly punched me in the face. The force was enough to knock me onto my back.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear that kind of talk from you!" Zack shouted. My body suddenly fell slack as I sat up and listened to him. "Do you think any of us went on this journey fully knowing what was going to happen? Thinking we could take down anyone that we ran across? No! We didn't! We went into this knowing we could die at any time. But we didn't let that stop us. We kept going because we knew, we know, that if we give up, then we really are dead. I don't know what a Sith Lord is but the only way she can really kill us is if we give up."

Zack's words hit me harder than his fist. I sat there in shocked silence. Feeling ashamed, I lowered my head.

"Hey, cheer up lad. Remember, we still have you with us. Oh, before I forget." Cait Sith dug around in the back of his Mog before he pulled out a couple of items. I looked up and saw my wallet and cellphone.

"You kept them?" I stared with wide eyes.

"Yup. Had to look after them. I still didn't want people figuring out your secret. Glad I didn't." Cait Sith had a smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile myself.

"Now, let's get you back up." Zack stretched out his hand and grabbed mine. Before I knew it, he was pulling me back up onto my feet.

"Yeah, we can do this." I was still terrified, not as much as before but it was there. At least with Zack's words, I felt like I still stood a chance.

_**Minutes later...**_

Shortly after my talk with Zack and Cait Sith, Cid called everyone to the Operations Room. Everyone sat at the table, watching as he dug through a small cabinet.

"Where the hell did I put it? Ah, here it is." Cid pulled out an, old-beat up hot pot. He placed it onto the table and flipped a small switch on it. A small tea pot a couple of fancy tea cups, and a water water were next to come out. He slowly poured the water into the hot pot.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Yuffie asked.

"This hot pot is one of the few things left that don't run on mako," Cid said, completely ignoring her. "My grand pappy used this thing. It's a piece of shit that constantly needs maintenance but I just can't seem to get rid of it."

"What does it run on?" I asked.

"Regular batteries. They're a bitch to come by." Cid pulled out a small wooden box and slid back the lid. In it were a small pile of tea leaves. He grabbed a small amount of the leaves and placed them into the tea pot. Once the water in the hot pot was boiling, he poured it into the tea pot.

"You know," Cid lit a cigarette, "I'm not as good as Shera when it comes to making tea. She always does this fancy water pouring trick and it comes out fantastic. Always pissed me off." Cid poured the tea into the two cups and slid one of them to me.

"Uhhhh, what's this for?" I stared at the cup then at Cid. I couldn't tell if the tension between us was till high.

"It's for drinking. Now shut the hell up an' do it." Cid drank deeply from his cup and then lit a cigarette.

I grabbed my cup and took a sip. "It's good," I said.

"You know, for a dumb shit, you hit pretty hard." Cid rubbed his cheek where I hit him.

"For an old shit, you pack a good punch yourself." I rubbed my cheek as well. Both of us grinned and drank our tea.

"Good, now onto business." Cid turned to face everyone in the room.

"Wait wait wait, hold up a second!" Yuffie shouted. She had a small bag on her forehead to help stop her from getting motion sickness. "You guys were ready to kill each other and next thing you know it, you're drinking tea and being all buddy about it!?"

"It's jus' something men do," Barret said.

"Men are stupid" Yuffie pouted.

Tifa placed her hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "Sometimes, you just have to go with it."

"_Anyway_, back to business. Now, what the hell are you doing alive?" Cid pointed at me. I sighed.

"This is gonna be one long story. so everyone make yourselves comfortable. After I shot myself…" Explaining the story took a while since I tried my best to give everyone as much detail as I could. I even told them I was from another world, leaving out the small detail that where I come from this is all a game and I know what's going to happen.

"So, in a way, you are like Jenova," Nanaki said.

"What do you mean?" Aerith asked.

"He is a being from another world. Just like Jenova. Though by the look of it, they are from two separate worlds." Nanaki circled around the table as he spoke.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I rubbed the back of my head. Even though I made the comparison myself, it still felt really weird.

"It might also explain what she meant by saying you won't be able to go to the Lifestream," Nanaki continued.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, it is only a theory, but since you are not of Gaia, you might not have the Lifestream running through you. If is is not running though you then it is not possible for you to become one with the planet," Nanaki said.

"Well, I died once. Now I'm back." I looked around the room. Everyone was focusing on me.

'Ugh, I hate being the center of attention. Yeah. I admit I want the attention but once I get it I lose all confidence and clam up.'

"The fact that both you and Zack are standing before us is truly amazing." Aerith smiled at both if us.

"Of course! You can't keep me down for long!" Zack grinned and flexed his arm.

"Damn, all this time you've been wanderin' around and ain't even say nothin' about where you come from." Barret said.

"Why didn't you tell us?"Tifa cried out.

"Well I…" I didn't want to tell them it was because this was a video game.

"It is simple if you think about it. How is anyone supposed to say they are from another world? Everyone would think Boto was crazy for saying such a thing," Nanaki responded for me.

"He makes a good point." Cid lit another cigarette.

'Yes! Somebody that can actually come up with reasonable excuses for me! I'm going to give him so many dog biscuits when this is all over!'

We don't have time to focus on that right now!" Barret slammed his fist on the table. "What we need to do is figure out how to stop that damn meteor from hittin' the planet."

"That's right. For some reason, Aerith's materia isn't working." Tifa chimed in.

"And there is still the possibility that Cloud is alive," Nanaki added.

'Well, I might as well get this ball rolling.'

"Now that you mention it," I said. "I did hear one of the soldiers saying that Mideel is really close to the Lifestream. Since Cloud fell into it, he might resurface there." I scratched the back of my head, looking as though I were trying to recall the memory.

"What if we just find a Spehiroth clone? Plenty of them fell into the Lifestream back in the crater." Nanaki said.

Vincent nodded. "It is a risk we must take."

"Well then, I guess it's settled. We're going to Mideel." Cid put out his cigarette and store it above his left ear "Oh, it's good to have you back." He patted my shoulder and left. Something smacked the back of my head hard shortly after.

"Ow! What the-" I turned around to see Barret standing behind me. His gun arm starched out.

"You go shootin' yourself like that again an I'm gonna be the one killin' ya." Barret followed Cid out of the room.

"I too am glad you are back." Nanaki bowed his head and left. It didn't take long for the room to clear. I just stood next to the table. Everything that had just happened was still sinking in.

"Boto." I heard Tifa's voice. I turned around to see her standing behind me. Tears started to flow down her cheeks. Before I knew it, she threw her arms around me. "I'm so happy you're alive! I can't stand seeing the people I care about leave." She buried her head into my chest and sobbed. "I'm glad you're back."

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm back too." I wrapped my arms around her.

Truth be told, those words were hollow. I wasn't glad to be back. After what had just happened, I was terrified. I wished that I had never come back at all. That this was still some horrible dream that I would wake up from at any moment. I would get ready and go to my job that I complained about all the time.

It's ironic. I've always wanted to be in some fantasy world, going on adventures and fighting evil, and getting the girl in the end. Hell, Tifa just hugging me like this would have been satisfying. But now that I'm here, doing all of this, I just want to go home. Hanging out with my friends and family, watching a movie; anything would be better than this right now. The worst part is that I may never return home.

I'm starting to hate this world.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hello everyone. I bet you weren't expecting an update. Well, just to let you know, this is still alive and kicking. The reason it's been so long is because I've gotten a new job as a corrections officer at a prison. It's very stressful but the pay is great. Now that I'm a bit more settled into it, I pushing to crank out more chapters. So, yes, this story is still alive! II hope to see all of you in the next chapter!_


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